Port capacity is rising, innovation platforms are clustering, and key technologies are undergoing large-scale domestic substitution. In the starting year of the "15th Five-Year Plan," Rudong County in Jiangsu Province is firmly adhering to the principles of "industry-driven county, project-first," with maritime development as its strategic direction. From the leapfrog improvement of port capacity to the accelerated gathering of innovation platforms and the technological breakthroughs of specialized and sophisticated enterprises, Rudong is building a new maritime-strengthening framework that deeply integrates "port, industry, city, and innovation."
Corridor First, "Front Port, Rear Factory" Reshapes Logistics Landscape
To strengthen maritime development, the corridor must come first. The Jinniu Port is turning Rudong's coastline into a true "golden coastline." Separated by only a road from the industry, raw materials are unloaded from ships and directly enter the factory, while finished products leave the factory and are immediately loaded onto vessels. This "front port, rear factory" layout is the most vivid example of Rudong's "industry-driven county, project-first" approach. As the first alongside dock at Yangkou Port, the first phase of Jinniu Port, with three 50,000-ton berths, is now operational. The port is adjacent to the Lingang Industrial Park, primarily serving leading enterprises in new materials, new energy, and new equipment. Its designed throughput capacity for the first phase is 4.08 million tons. Since its operation, the cargo types have covered pulp boards, chemical fiber raw materials, industrial raw materials, submarine cables, major offshore wind power equipment, and outbound finished products, with volumes steadily increasing. Compared to the previous route of transporting goods via the Yangguang Island cross-sea bridge, this allows for nearby loading and unloading of raw materials and finished products, significantly reducing logistics distances and addressing the shortcomings of Yangkou Port in handling bulk cargo and major pieces. Ding Hui, Deputy General Manager of Jiangsu Yangkou Port Port Co., Ltd., stated that the second phase of Jinniu Port is scheduled to start construction by the end of the year, adding three new 50,000-ton berths with a designed annual throughput of 7.7 million tons. The combined total throughput capacity of phases one and two will exceed 11.7 million tons. In the long term, as the port phases are implemented step by step, it will continue to strengthen Yangkou Port's capacity to transport general cargo and major pieces, enhance its attractiveness for project investment, promote "port-industry linkage," and expand the Lingang industrial cluster. Represented by the Jinniu Port, the Yangkou Port Economic Development Zone is expected to achieve total industrial sales revenue of 31.5 billion yuan in the first half of the year, a year-on-year increase of 16.1%. It has newly signed three projects worth over 500 million yuan and one project worth over 1 billion yuan. The improvement in port capacity is rapidly translating into tangible growth for the Lingang industries.
Bridging the "Last Kilometer," Innovation Elements Surge In
Strengthening maritime development is not just about the massive inflows and outflows at the port yard but also the surging influx of innovation elements. About a ten-minute drive from the port is the Yangkou Port Chemical Pilot Base. This is one of the first batch of chemical pilot bases in the province and the only one in Nantong, where the "golden ideas" from universities and research institutes undergo the final validation from the laboratory to the production line. Inside the Yangkou Port Chemical Pilot Base, rows of standardized Class A factory buildings are neatly arranged, equipped with unified supporting utilities for power distribution, refrigeration, wastewater treatment, and fire protection. Teams stationed there do not need to build their own factories or infrastructure; they can bring their technology and conduct scale-up experiments, significantly reducing the trial-and-error costs of scaling up small-scale research results, forming a collaborative model of "R&D in Southern Jiangsu, piloting in Yangkou Port." Shu Yuejun, General Manager of the base operator, Jiangsu Nayang New Materials Development Co., Ltd., explained that the base is currently focusing on five national strategic emerging sectors: nano-new materials, electronic chemicals, new energy materials, fiber new materials, and functional membrane materials. All projects are aimed at the import substitution direction of high-end new materials, conducting pilot-scale R&D to solidify the autonomous and secure foundation of the industrial and supply chains. As the core partner of the base, Nano-Micro has already established a world-leading nano-new material pilot project in the park. After the process is validated through the base's full pilot process, it will be scaled up for mass production. Once fully operational, the project's annual output value could reach tens of billions of yuan, injecting strong momentum into the development of the regional new materials industrial cluster.
With the platform's piloting capability, it is crucial to precisely connect the real needs of enterprises with the research strength of universities. The Changzhou University Rudong New Materials Research Institute (Changzhou University Technology Transfer Center Rudong Branch), located in Yangkou Town, is dedicated to this task. It first surveys the genuine technological needs of enterprises in the park and then approaches experts from various universities with these problems to tackle them. The model of "enterprises pose problems, universities solve them, and the market evaluates the results" has been successfully implemented here. Zhai Suping, a technology transfer manager at the institute, stated that focusing on the three major industrial chains of new materials, new energy, and high-end equipment in Yangkou Town, the institute has incubated two new materials enterprises. Through continuous communication and coordination with these enterprises during the R&D process, they have ultimately developed market-demanded products, generating actual revenue for the companies. Professor Wang Chengyi, a member of the first batch of high-level talent entrepreneurship teams introduced and a professor from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Changzhou University, introduced that his team is primarily researching special engineering plastics, applied in robot joint materials, microelectronic components, and aerospace composite materials. They have just jointly applied with an enterprise in the Yangkou Chemical Park for a project to produce 100 tons of polyetherimide special engineering plastics annually. The equipment is expected to be installed by January 2027, with trial production starting in March 2027.
From Platform to Enterprise, Rudong Manufacturing's Path to Breakthrough
From the port to the platform, and from the platform to the enterprise, the end of this innovation chain is where physical enterprises transform technology into products. In the Rudong Economic Development Zone, Tanglong Electronics and Ningpu Electric are two typical representatives. One focuses on chips, the other on overseas expansion. Their paths differ, but both are establishing their own pace in their respective tracks. Inside Tanglong Electronics' workshop, wafers are flowing along the production line. This company, established just four years ago, targets the domestic substitution of key semiconductor materials, with its core products widely used in the communication and new energy sectors. In the past, this field was heavily dependent on imports, but Tanglong has achieved its own design and manufacturing. General Manager Wan Hongwei stated that the company's 6.3-inch ultra-large fast chip wafers are currently in high demand, and the newly developed long crystal film project has entered mass production. The company plans to achieve sales of 15 million yuan this year, aiming for 500 million yuan by 2030. On the other side, at Ningpu Electric, batches of portable air conditioners are being packed in the warehouse, ready for shipment overseas. This enterprise has focused on portable air conditioners and dehumidifiers for over a decade, with products sold to more than 30 countries and regions worldwide. Chairman Wang Cheng explained that this year, they will export over 400,000 units, with exports accounting for 90% of sales. Deep cooperation with GE in the US has brought Rudong-manufactured products into family living rooms around the globe. This year's sales have increased by 20% compared to previous years, and the company aims to achieve an average annual growth rate of over 20% in the next five years. Represented by Tanglong Electronics and Ningpu Electric, the Rudong Economic Development Zone achieved total industrial sales revenue of 27.863 billion yuan from January to June this year, a year-on-year increase of 13.85%. It has newly signed and registered 22 projects worth over 100 million yuan, with the industrial clustering effect continuing to be unleashed.
The clarion call for the "15th Five-Year Plan" has sounded. Rudong, a vibrant city by the river and sea, with the determination of "industry-driven county, project-first," and the vision of "cross-river integration, strengthening maritime development," is striving to create a new horizon in the broader context of Jiangsu's high-quality coastal development.
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