On August 19, Zhao Jianjun, director of Jiangsu Provincial Department of Commerce, headed a delegation to Changzhou for inspection. The same day, Jiangsu Department of Commerce, Changzhou People's Government and Wujin National High-tech Industrial Zone signed an agreement to jointly develop the Jiangsu Economic and Trade Office in Israel.

Qi Jiabin, secretary of CPC Changzhou Municipal Committee, met with the delegation. Mayor Chen Jinhu signed the agreement on behalf of Changzhou. City leaders Fang Guoqiang and Li Lin, and secretary-general Hang Yong attended the event.

Qi Jiabin said that since the beginning of this year, Changzhou has been focusing on both the prevention and control of COVID-19 and the resumption of work and production, making remarkable achievements in challenging times. As of this June, Changzhou's main economic indicators have bounced back to pre-pandemic levels. In terms of foreign trade and investment, many foreign-funded enterprises in Changzhou have increased their investment, showing that foreign investors are increasingly optimistic about Changzhou and the whole country’s progress toward a gradual recovery. At the same time, the city’s international cooperation platforms, such as the China-Israel Changzhou Innovation Park in Wujin and the China-German Innovation Park in Jintan, have been strongly supporting the development of an open economy. This time, the establishment of the Jiangsu Economic and Trade Representative Office in Israel in Changzhou will strongly promote the better and faster development of the China-Israel Innovation Park. Faced with the severe international economic and trade situation, Changzhou will take practical and effective measures to help enterprises solve practical problems, try their best to stabilize foreign and foreign capital, promote the domestic and international dual cycle, and make due contributions to the province's foreign and foreign investment.

Today, the China-Israel Innovation Park in Changzhou, a bi-national governmental initiative, is home to 102 companies wholly invested by Israel or together with their Chinese partners. The park has also promoted 26 cooperative S&T projects and hosted innovation platforms, such as Jiangsu China-Israel Industrial Technology Research Institute. The Israel Jiangsu Center, China's first provincial-level overseas innovation hub, started operation in September 2019, with the aim of working as a bridge and platform to enhance the innovation cooperation between the two countries.

The new office will be built on the base of the Israel Jiangsu Center, established by the China- Israel Innovation Park in Changzhou City. The office will make full use of various resources, open up cooperation channels, strengthen international industrial cooperation, and promote two-way trade and investment cooperation. Such efforts will help Jiangsu become an important hub of the Belt and Road Initiative.