A Nantong businessman in his workshop in Ethiopia. [Photo/Nantong Daily]

There are nearly 1 million businesspeople born in Nantong, Jiangsu province, 100,000 of whom conduct business in over 120 countries and regions.

The city has established 138 chambers of commerce, including 45 outside of China.

In 1996, the Nantong Chamber of Commerce in Romania, the first commerce chamber set up by Nantong businesspeople, was established. Since then, the Nantong chambers of commerce in South Africa and Canada have also come into being.

In 2008, Nantong businesspeople in Africa celebrated the 10th anniversary of establishing businesses in the continent, with the Nantong natives initiating a proposal to come together and repay their hometown, marking the rapid growth of Nantong chambers of commerce abroad.

In 2017, the Nantong General Chamber of Commerce was established, and five years later the Nantong General Chamber of Commerce set up its overseas branch.

At the service center of Linxi village in Haimen district, a sketch map about Linxi villagers in the world is quite eye-catching. Gu Yezhou, deputy secretary of the general Party branch in Linxi, explained that of the 3,591 local villagers, over 600 are engaged in business in more than 40 countries and regions and each year, the village exports textile products worth about $200 million.

The Nantong businesspeople seeking overseas expansion have also diversified from the initial construction contractors and home textile supplier to include mine developers, industrial park builders, energy investors, real estate developers, and more.

They have also transformed local enterprises into multinationals by setting up overseas institutions and mergers and acquisitions.

The private economy has emerged as a strong driver of economic development in Nantong. In 2023, the added value of the private economy in the city totaled 786.28 billion yuan ($108.37 billion), accounting for 69.1 percent of its total GDP.