The Zhangjiagang government holds an event in Beijing to attract sci-tech projects. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, held an investment promotion event in Beijing on March 26.

More than 500 representatives from government departments, industry associations, universities, and companies in Zhangjiagang and Beijing attended the event.

Agreements for 81 cooperation projects with a combined investment of over 21.7 billion yuan ($3.15 billion) were signed during the event. The projects are mainly related to sectors including new energy, high-end intelligent equipment, biomedicine, and semiconductors.

Zhangjiagang and Beijing have maintained deep and extensive cooperation in recent years, said Han Wei, Party secretary of Zhangjiagang, in his address. For example, the city has established close partnerships with many universities and research institutes in Beijing, including Tsinghua University, Peking University, and the Institute of Process Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Following the launch of a direct train between Zhangjiagang and Beijing two years ago, many companies in Beijing, such as Space Pioneer and Oriental Yuhong, have started their businesses in Zhangjiagang, Han added.

The Party secretary also noted that Zhangjiagang has been making efforts to improve its industrial structure this year and aims to attract 5,000 sci-tech projects in the next three years.

Sun Jinghong, deputy Party secretary of the University of Science and Technology Beijing, hailed the favorable business environment, high-quality government services, and huge investment potential of Zhangjiagang at the event.

A group of experts were hired to provide forward-looking and insightful advice regarding Zhangjiagang's development path and industrial innovation. A platform that can facilitate exchanges between companies, experts, and governments was also unveiled during the event.