On 28th Jan, on the occasion of the upcoming Spring Festival, the 2022 New Year Gathering of Foreign Friends in Suzhou was held by Suzhou Municipal People’s Government. The event was hosted by Mr. Wei Shujie, Director of Suzhou Foreign Affairs Office. Mr. Yang Zhiping, Vice Mayor of Suzhou, and officials from Suzhou Bureau of Commerce, Suzhou Bureau of Science and Technology, Suzhou Municipal Education Bureau, SIP Administrative Committee and SND Administrative Committee attended the event.
At the event, 13 foreign representatives of different fields talked about their feelings of living in Suzhou and suggestions on the development of this city from the perspective of further improving foreign-related public services in order to make it more livable for international friends.
Mr. Shiotani Gaishi, Suzhou Honorary Citizen and President of Suzhou Ishikawa Iron Manufacturing Co., Ltd., appreciated Suzhou for creating a favorable business environment for foreign-invested enterprises here. “ I’m deeply impressed by the convenient location of Suzhou and its appeal to talents. Over these years, the number of our employees has grown from 50 to more than 800, with our annual sales volume reaching near one billion RMB. All of these achievements are indispensable from the guidance and support of the government.” said Mr. Shiotani.
Angela Cholakian, Friend of Suzhou·Merit and Associate Professor of Piano Department of Soochow University, came to this city 9 years ago and has witnessed the rapid development over the years. She said: “ I fell in love with this city at first sight for its ancient charm, and now it has developed into a modernized place with convenient transportation network and international facilities. I’m satisfied with my life in this lovely city.”
After listening to the genuine speeches of these foreign friends, Mr. Yang Zhiping, on behalf of the municipal government, expressed sincere gratitude to the representatives for their great contribution to the economic and social development of Suzhou. “Suzhou has become one of the most export-oriented cities in the country, with more than 17,000 foreign-invested enterprises and nearly 30,000 foreigners working and living here. ” said the vice mayor. He stressed that the government would continue to promote a higher level of opening-up, and spare no effort to optimize the business environment for foreign investment and assure that foreign friends can live a comfortable life in Suzhou. At the same time, he welcomed international friends in Suzhou to continuously pay attention to the development of the city, actively give their advice and jointly make greater contribution to the high-quality development of Suzhou.
