Jin Yan, director of WND's business promotion bureau, has over 30 years of experiences in the area and can certainly offer an accurate insight into this world of trade.

"A district will only acquire limited amount of revenue from manufacturing plants. The settlement of R&D and sales bases, however, is a far more critical step and one that provides a far greater contribution to the local economy."

In light of this, the district has been striving to broaden its channels and optimize the services it provides in order to convince foreign enterprises to move their R&D centers or regional headquarters from megacities such as Beijing and Shanghai to Wuxi.

Atlas Copco (Wuxi) Compressor hosts a groundbreaking ceremony for its R&D base in WND on Nov 30. [Photo provided to bizwnd.gov.cn]

Hua Yanhong, director general of WND's investment promotion service bureau, is one such advocate and has spearheaded Wuxi's drive to attract dynamic multinational companies.

"No matter much things change in the world, few foreign enterprises with branches in Wuxi have pulled the plug so far."

To date, WND has gathered 18 regional headquarters or technology R&D centers of multinational companies, which accounts for more than half the total sum in Wuxi. It is fair to say companies such as Caterpillar, Atlas Copco and Bridgestone have been fueling the city's economic engine.

LG Hausys, a subsidiary of South Korea's LG Group, sets up its regional sales headquarters in Wuxi National Hi-Tech District. [Photo provided to China Daily]

While 2016 was certainly a bright year for WND, the future seems to be equally exciting with the local investment bureau highlighting a number of promising business developments.

These include the establishment of nine investment promotion agencies in the US, Europe, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, the introduction of overseas productive service projects, and upgrading the value added of pillar industries.