Cooperation with Taiwan is entering a “golden development stage”, said Ding Dawei, Party chief of Nantong, Jiangsu province.

Ding made the remarks when he met a group of scholars and businesspeople from Taiwan earlier this month.

After years of development, Nantong has undergone a fundamental change in its transportation infrastructure and growth potential, he told Lee Chin-Tarn, dean of the college of management at National Sun Yat-sen University, as well as representatives of the Council for Industrial and Commercial Development in Taiwan.

Ding said he expects cooperation between Nantong and Taiwan to extend from economics to other domains, such as culture and education.

“We will continue to build a sound business environment for Taiwan investors and promote cooperation between Nantong and Taiwan in a variety of fields to a higher level,” he said.

A worker checks a disc at Fortune (Jiangsu) Multimedia, which has joint investment from Taiwan CMC, a global leading optical disc manufacturer, and Gangzha Economic Development Zone General in Nantong, Jiangsu province. [PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY]

Lee said the visit to Nantong gave him faith in the city’s development.

Nantong has strong growth potential and its future is promising, he said.

With close proximity to the East China Sea and the Yangtze River, the coastal city is expected to attract more professionals and capital to rival its neighbors Shanghai and Ningbo, both business hubs, Lee said.

“If the East China Sea is likened to a bow and the Yangtze River is compared to an arrow, Nantong is where the power of the shot comes from,” he said.

Nantong was ranked among the top three cities in Jiangsu province in terms of Taiwan investment value for 10 consecutive years.

To date, more than 2,300 Taiwan-funded investment projects, worth more than $7 billion, have been drawn to the city and range from agriculture and industry to service sectors.

Some 68 percent of them are involved in the sectors of renewable energy, new materials, optoelectronic technologies and modern services, which became a magnet for investments from the island.

Taiwan investors have poured more than $1.8 billion into Nantong in the past three years, accounting for a quarter of the city’s total overseas investments.

Another 24 Taiwan-funded projects were given the green light in the first half of this year, with $415 million in combined investment value.

Among the new projects, 13 are each worth more than 10 million yuan ($1.56 million).

To facilitate trade with and investments from Taiwan, Nantong has established a special committee to protect the interests of Taiwan investors. It offers Taiwan companies free legal services and, last year alone, helped resolve 42 disputes.

A cross-Straits creative industry cooperative zone was built in Nantong in May to attract more Taiwan startup companies.

A manufacturers association on the island ranked Nantong as one of its strongly recommended cities for Taiwan investment for three consecutive years.

After gaining approval to run direct flights to Taiwan in early July, Nantong Xingdong Airport is expected to begin the service within this year, Chen Lin, general manager of the airport, told local media.

Contact the writers through Ding Congrong@chinadaily.com.cn