The Eighth Grand Canal E-Commerce and Digital Intelligence Industry Development Conference, themed "Gathering Momentum for Shared Success, Intelligently Enabling the Future," was successfully held on April 27th in Suqian, Jiangsu Province. Using the canal as a link, e-commerce as a bridge, and digital intelligence as an engine, the event featured the release of a batch of industrial innovation achievements. A total of 70 high-quality projects spanning artificial intelligence, new materials, cross-border e-commerce, and other fields were signed. These initiatives aim to accelerate Suqian's transition from an "E-Commerce Famous City" to a "Digital Intelligence New City," injecting fresh momentum into the digital transformation of industries along the canal.
In her opening address, the Secretary of the Suqian Municipal Committee highlighted that Suqian's prosperity is historically linked to the canal. Today, the city boasts efficient transportation and a thriving economy, with accelerated development of its "619" industrial system. This system centers on six industrial clusters, including new energy and new-type food, and 19 key industrial chains, such as membrane materials. The output value of high-end textiles and new materials industries has successively exceeded the 100-billion-yuan mark. The city's modern vibrancy is connected to the internet, with the "industrial belt + cross-border e-commerce + overseas warehouse" model continuously deepening and new e-commerce formats steadily expanding. Furthermore, Suqian is being reshaped by data, actively reconstructing industrial forms with artificial intelligence to facilitate the leap towards a "Digital Intelligence New City." Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Suqian will focus on simultaneously boosting economic aggregate, quality, and per capita indicators. It will promote the integration of water transport, high-speed rail, and internet networks, and jointly develop itself as a city known for its aquatic charm and green spaces, digital intelligence, and youth-friendly environment, fostering mutual growth for both enterprises and the city.
The Mayor of Suqian presented the city's investment environment, noting that since its establishment 30 years ago, Suqian's GDP has surpassed the 500 billion yuan threshold. Its national city ranking has climbed from 146th to 66th, making it one of the fastest-growing cities in the Yangtze River Delta. As a geometric center for canal e-commerce, Suqian has gathered 36,000 e-commerce enterprises and 137,000 active online stores, forming 14 distinctive e-commerce industrial belts. It has successfully been approved as a national-level comprehensive pilot zone for cross-border e-commerce. Building on this foundation, Suqian is fully embracing the AI wave, having established four computing power centers with a total capacity exceeding 2,400 Petaflops. Its data annotation industry leads Jiangsu Province in revenue, and the city's artificial intelligence industry output value is projected to exceed 100 billion yuan by 2030. Suqian remains committed to providing sincere support, dedicated service, and maintaining its promise to create an optimal business environment.
A highlight of the conference was a performance by an agile robot band playing a custom composition, a vivid demonstration of Suqian's multi-machine, millisecond-level coordination capabilities in digital intelligence. Several platforms and projects were launched on-site. In cross-border e-commerce, the "National College Business Elite Challenge - Cross-border E-commerce Track" was officially initiated. Platforms including JD Worldwide and Made-in-China.com jointly established the "Suqian Cross-border E-commerce Ecological Cooperation Alliance" to build a collaborative system for global expansion. For the e-commerce ecosystem, entities such as the "JD Jingxi Suqian Industrial Belt Procurement and Sales Center" and the "Suqian New Momentum Fund" were unveiled, injecting capital into the digital upgrade of industrial belts and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Key breakthroughs were also announced in digital intelligence innovation. The unveiling of the "Three Centers, One Platform" – comprising the JD Cloud (Suqian) Embodied Intelligence Data Collection and Operation Center, Suqian (JD.com) Artificial Intelligence Plus Technology Innovation Center, JD Global Drone Safety Flight Control Center, and JD Cloud (Suqian) Embodied Intelligence Pilot Platform – aims to establish a nationally leading hub for embodied intelligence technology transformation. Concurrently, Jiangsu Province launched a pilot initiative for building high-quality datasets in the industrial and information technology sectors. The Jiangsu Embodied Intelligent Robot Industry Alliance released three core achievements – intelligent agents, models, and datasets – and announced a collaboration with JD.com to create a dedicated exhibition and sales zone for embodied robots.
The event concluded with the signing of 70 projects. These included 37 industrial projects in sectors like AI and new materials, 16 modern service industry projects such as cross-border e-commerce and modern logistics, and 17 talent and technology collaboration projects with institutions like Xiamen University and China University of Mining and Technology. Leading companies including Hengyi Petrochemical, Zhongke Huiling, and Momenta will establish landmark industrial projects in Suqian. It is reported that Suqian will use this conference as a catalyst to deepen industrial collaboration with other cities along the Grand Canal, revitalizing the ancient waterway with new vitality in the digital intelligence era.
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