Taicang, Jiangsu province was awarded the Forerunner Award at the 2018 Euro-China Green & Smart City Summit held in Ningbo, Zhejiang province on Sept 7 besting more than 80 other competitors across Europe and China for its achievements in China-Euro international cooperation.

Known as the "home of German Companies in China", Taicang has more than 300 German-owned companies, with the annual industrial output exceeding 50 billion yuan ($7.25 billion). It also organizes various kinds of Sino-Germany interchange activities, such as holding the Taicang Oktoberfest for 13 consecutive years.

Taicang has taken the initiative in improving its living and investment environment to attract foreign companies in recent years, including shutting down polluting enterprises, as well as issuing a series of measures and plans to develop the industries of high-end equipment manufacturing, new material, and biomedicine.

Initiated by Foundation Prospective & Innovation in France and China Center for Urban Development, the Euro-China Green & Smart City Summit aims to reinforce Euro-China cooperation in developing green and smart cities via a series of platforms and projects. Previous summits have been held in Hong Kong in 2015 and Shenzhen in 2016.

Government representatives of Taicang, Jiangsu province are honored with the Forerunner Award at the 2018 Euro-China Green & Smart City Summit held in Ningbo, Zhejiang province on Sept 7. [Photo/WeChat account: tcfbgw]

A certificate for the Forerunner Award in China-Euro international cooperation is given to Taicang, Jiangsu province at the 2018 Euro-China Green & Smart City Summit held in Ningbo, Zhejiang province on Sept 7. [Photo/WeChat account: tcfbgw]