保护古城风貌，加快新区建设东园西区，古城居中，一体两翼
　　具有2500余年悠久历史的苏州，随着改革开放的深入，保护古城与发展经济的矛盾日益突出，1990年底，苏州市委、市政府根据国务院“保护古城风貌，加快新区建设”的批示，作出了面向未来、面向现代化、面向二十一世纪开发建设苏州新区的果断决策，跨过狮山桥，向京杭大运河以西地区拓展。1992年，在小平同志南巡讲话精神的鼓舞下，苏州新区全面启动。当年11月18日，苏州新区被批准为国家级高新技术产业开发区。
　　苏州新区可谓白手起家，没有一幢像样的楼房，有的只是广袤的田野、一座狮山大桥、两段路、93余公顷已征地块、2000万元贷款，利用的是老城区的水、电、污水处理等基础设施。人们不禁为苏州新区的前景暗暗捏了一把汗。然而，弹指一挥间，一座现代化新城竟奇迹般地矗立于运河西岸。
　　总面积52平方公里的苏州新区，按照高新技术产业开发区、开放型经济聚集区、现代化新城区三位一体原则科学规划，高标准建设。早在开发之初，苏州新区就确定了两大发展目标：发挥苏州历史文化名城的优势，再造一个现代化、园林化的新城区；同时，凭借苏州原有的经济基础，加快开放型高科技产业的聚集，建设一个国际化的科技园区。苏州新区坚持经济社会协调发展，高起点规划、高标准建设中央商贸区、科技产业区、环中心生活区3大功能区。累计投入50亿元，重点建设了总容量40万千伏安的变电站以及邮电通讯中心、污水处理厂、热电厂、液化气厂、自来水厂等源头工程，形成了完整的配套设施体系。风格迥异的各种住宅小区满足了不同档次消费者的需求，8万余名居民和3000多名外籍人士在此安了新家，其乐融融。
　　苏州新区积极引进国外先进技术，以开放带动高新技术产业发展，现有来自30多个国家和地区的500余个外资项目，其中包括50余个跨国公司，总投资逾50亿美元，项目的平均投资额超过了1000万美元，投资额超过1亿美元的项目有12个，外向型经济占区域经济总量的80%以上。这些项目具有规模效益大、集约程度高、技术设备先进的特点。尤其是跨国公司的投资和经营，使产业结构、经济规模、技术水平发生了重大变化，加速了“产业高地”的形成。日本、台湾、欧美项目分别占项目总数的31%、28%、34%，其中排名世界百强的企业13家、世界10强企业5家。美国的摩托罗拉、杜邦，日本的精工爱普生、松下电工，德国的西门子，瑞士的迅达、罗技，荷兰的飞利浦等著名跨国公司，由试探性投资转向基地化投资，有的还把科研开发基地转移到苏州新区，科研开发本土化，美国摩托罗拉、荷兰飞利浦等10几个研究开发中心先后进入。


　　苏州新区的项目大多集中在电子通讯、精密机械、生物医药、新材料等新兴产业，其中，电子信息产业产值占区域工业总产值70%以上。苏州新区已成为全国重要的电子基础材料、计算机及周边产品的生产基地，在国际市场占有较大份额，如电脑鼠标器、小屏幕液晶显示器、扫描仪等均占世界同类产品市场的30%，有的高达60%。
　　高科技和开放型经济提升了传统产业，苏州新区已成为市区新的经济增长点和产业结构调整的载体。100多家国有、集体企业先后进入苏州新区实施大规模技术改造，其中，45家大中型骨干企业通过合资、合作，加快了产业升级的步伐，产品档次、技术水平和管理水平大幅度提高。苏州第三光学仪器厂原来龟缩在老城区的半园里，为了寻找新的发展空间，1993年，苏州第三光学仪器厂率先落户苏州新区，先后嫁接了5家合资企业，昔日的弄堂集体小厂一跃成为实力雄厚的苏州三光集团公司，“三光”牌数控线切割机床占国内市场需求量的三分之一，公司总资产也从1993年的4960万元剧增至2亿元。
　　苏州新区在借外智的同时，积极培植知识经济创新体系，拥有民族自主知识产权的高新技术企业和项目不断孵化。苏州高新技术创业服务中心1996年被联合国认定为中国首批国际企业孵化器，而后，又建立了中国苏州留学人员创业园，三位一体的科技英才创业基地初具规模。苏州新区科技投入增长速度每年逾20%。苏州新区现有江苏省科委认定的高新技术企业185家，数量居江苏省各开发区和县级城市之首。
　　苏州新区不遗余力发展教育、科技，先后投资5亿余元新建的12所学校，既有为外商子女办的苏州外国语学校、又有南京大学附属中学--江苏省苏州实验中学，实验小学和实验幼儿园也分别是省示范学校，从幼儿园到大学形成体系。1995年，苏州新区与南京大学签订了教科研合作协议，双方就人才培养、科学研究、成果转让等内容达成了有效期为10年的合作协议，苏州新区在南京大学设立100万元专项奖励基金，南京大学在苏州新区设立继续教育培训基地，兴办外语、科技、管理、经济等培训班，承担苏州新区工作人员的培训和知识更新教学任务。2002年，国防科学技术大学与苏州新区发挥各自的科技优势与产业优势，联手培养软件工程硕士。
　　苏州新区引资更引智，广揽高级人才，成立了江苏省苏州新区博士后服务中心、江苏省苏州新区留学回国人员工作站，并设立了500万元留学回国人员择优资助基金，面向海内外引进人才、智力、科研成果。


　　苏州新区的崛起，给古城苏州赋予了新的活力。“东园西区，古城居中，一体两翼”的新苏州城市形态格局，告别了“小苏州”的历史。苏州新区，作为现代化新城区，生活设施具有90年代水平；作为高新技术产业开发区和开放型经济聚集区，优化了苏州市区的经济结构，成为苏州迈向新世纪的桥梁。
　　
　　Suzhou New District - An Economic Powerhouse
　　
　　By Fan Ning
　　In the late 1980s, as implementation of reform and open policies continued in greater depth and width, the ancient city of Suzhou in southern Jiangsu faced a major contradiction: how to continue developing its economy while protecting the cultural city with a history of more than 2,500 years.
　　At the end of 1990 the municipal government made the decision to spearhead local economic development westward, that is, opening an area west of the Grand Canal that cuts through the city for industrial development. In 1992, inspired by Deng Xiaoping‘s famous talks on his south China tour, full-scale development of a Suzhou New District started. In November of the same year, Suzhou New District (SND) was formally approved by the central government as a state-level new- and high-tech development zone.
　　At the start, SND had almost nothing except for a sizeable piece of flat land covering 52 square kilometers. There were a few dirt roads, a bridge spanning the Grand Canal and a bank loan of 20 million yuan. People had a pessimistic view of its future. But in a little more than 10 years, a new modern city has miraculously emerged in the west of the Grand Canal to fuel Suzhou‘s economic growth.
　　The local government set two goals for SND at the start of its development. First, to develop SND into a modern, garden-like new urban area. And second, to develop SND into an international science and technology park with a high concentration of high-tech enterprises by taking advantage of Suzhou‘s existing economic foundation. Planners insisted on a coordinated development of industries and community facilities in SND, dividing the district into three major functional zones: a central business and commercial zone, a high-tech industrial zone and a residential zone.
　　Over the years, a total of 5 billion yuan has been invested in SND, mainly for infrastructure facilities. Major projects include a big transformer station, a telecom center, a wastewater treatment plant, a heat and power plant, a LPG plant and a water works. Residential quarters of different styles cater to different groups of residents. More than 80,000 local people and over 3,000 foreigners have their homes in SND.
　　SND has achieved phenomenal success in attracting foreign investment. At present the district plays host to more than 500 overseas-funded enterprises, which involve a combined investment of more than US$5 billion. Average overseas investment in projects in the district exceeds US$10 million; and average investment in 12 projects in the district exceeds US$100 million. Investors include over 50 multinational corporations. Export-oriented enterprises furnish more than 80% of the district‘s economic output. These enterprises generally produce on merit of scale and use advanced equipment and sophisticated technology. The presence of many multinational corporations, in particular, has brought about major changes to the district‘s economic structure, economic scale and level of technologies applied. Japan, Taiwan, and Europe/North America have a prominent presence in SND. Specifically, Japan is the source of capital of 31% of overseas-funded enterprises in the district, Taiwan 28%, and Europe/North America 34%. Well-known investors include Motorola and DuPont of the United States, Epson and Matsushita of Japan, Siemens of Germany, Schindler of Switzerland and Philip of the Netherlands. Some multinationals have tried to localize research and development by moving their R&D centers to SND. As a result, SND is now home to more than ten R&D centers established by multinationals such as Motorola and Philip.
　　Projects in SND are concentrated in newly emerging industries such as electronics, telecom, precision machinery, bioengineering, pharmaceuticals, and new materials. Electronics and IT industry account for more than 70% of the district‘s total industrial output value. SND, in fact, has become a major production base in China for electronics basic materials, computers and peripherals. Computer mice, small-screen crystal displays and scanners made in SND, for example, have a 30% share of the world market. Some even have a world market share of 60%.
　　High technology and an open economy have made it possible for local traditional industries to upgrade. SND has become an engine driving economic growth for the whole municipality and a "carrier" of economic restructuring. More than 100 state-owned and collective enterprises have entered SND and undergone technical transformation. Forty-five big and medium-sized key enterprises have accelerated renewal of their product lines through joint venturing and cooperative operation with overseas partners. The Suzhou No.3 Optical Meters and Instruments Factory is a good example of this. The factory used to eke out a living in a back alley in the heart of Suzhou. To seek development space, it is one of the first domestic enterprises to relocate in SND, where it has set up five Chinese-foreign joint ventures. A once obscure small factory has now become a prosperous business called Suzhou Sanguang (Group) Corporation. The corporation‘s digital cutting machines command a one-third share of the home market. Company assets have increased from 49.6 million yuan in 1993 to 200 million yuan today.
　　While introducing foreign investment and technology, SND has been actively fostering the development of home-grown technologies. High- and new-tech enterprises and projects with Chinese-owned intellectual property rights are continuously incubated in the district. The Suzhou New- and High-tech Innovation Service Center in SND was designated an international business incubator by the United Nations in 1996. Later, SND established China Suzhou Pioneering Park for Overseas Chinese Scholars. With support and help from these incubators, 185 new- and high-tech enterprises have emerged in SND.
　　SND has spared no effort in developing education and science and technology. It has invested 500 million yuan building 12 schools. One of them, Suzhou Foreign Languages School, is for the children of foreign businesspeople and employees working in the district. The Suzhou Experimental School in SND is attached to Nanjing University. An experimental primary school and an experimental kindergarten in SND are also provincial-level exemplary schools. In 1995, SND signed a 10-year agreement with Nanjing University on cooperation in personnel training, scientific research and research finding transfer. SND has established a one million yuan special award fund in Nanjing University, while Nanjing University has established a continuing education base in SND, offering training in foreign languages, science and technology, management and economics. In 2002, SND and the National Defense Science and Technology University agreed to jointly train Master-degree candidates majoring in software development.
　　SND is interested in attracting talent as well as investment. It has established a post-doctorate service center and a workstation for returned Chinese students having completed studies overseas. It has set up a 5 million yuan fund that provides financial support to returned Chinese students intending to launch viable high-tech projects.
　　The emergence of SND has given Suzhou new vitality. With two vibrant wings - an industrial park (jointly managed by Chinese and Singaporeans) in the east and SND in the west - the ancient city of Suzhou has had an impressive economic takeoff, the envy of cities, big and small, in the country.