The Shanghai-Taicang Synergy Promotion Conference is held in Shanghai on Oct 10. [Photo/WeChat account: tcfbgw]

Contracts for 35 projects with an investment totaling 16.25 billion yuan ($2.36 billion) were signed at the Shanghai-Taicang Synergy Promotion Conference, which was held in Shanghai on Oct 10.

It is hoped that the signing of the deals will help to promote the economic development of both cities and accelerate the high-quality integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region.

Guests from the government sectors, universities, and State-owned enterprises of Shanghai and Jiangsu, as well as officials of the Yangtze River Delta Regional Cooperation Office and academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences attended the conference.

Contracts for 35 projects are signed at the Shanghai-Taicang Synergy Promotion Conference held in Shanghai on Oct 10. [Photo/WeChat account: tcfbgw]

"The middle-sized and small cities surrounding Shanghai, such as Taicang, a county-level city of Jiangsu province, are also important to the development of the Shanghai-centered metropolitan region. Taicang, with its advanced experience in Sino-German cooperation and well-developed creative industry, can contribute a lot to Shanghai's future development. Taicang will also get more development opportunities in return," said Feng Kui, secretary general of the academic board of the China Center for Urban Development.

The projects mainly cover the industries of new energy vehicles, high-end equipment manufacturing, culture and tourism.

Liu Changsheng, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and vice-president of East China University of Science and Technology, said that innovation is reshaping the current competitive landscape. Taicang, with its deep cooperation with Shanghai, should keep introducing top talents and developing its high-end industries by virtue of Shanghai's advantages, he added.

Liu Changsheng delivers a speech at the conference, talking about the importance of innovation in the development of a city. [Photo/WeChat account: tcfbgw]