Recently, Zhejiang Province announced the third batch of core and collaborative zones for provincial-level characteristic industrial clusters. Haining Integrated Circuit Industrial Cluster was selected as a provincial core zone, while Pinghu's synthetic materials, Haiyan's nuclear power-related equipment, Haining's industrial textiles, Tongxiang's high-performance fibers and composites, and Tongxiang's smart connected vehicles were included in the collaborative zones, making Jiaxing city rank first in the province in terms of total entries.

Industrial clusters are a key indicator of regional competitiveness. Over the past year, Jiaxing's industrial clusters have grown rapidly. Currently, Jiaxing boasts seven provincial-level characteristic industrial cluster core zones under the "Made in Zhejiang" initiative. Additionally, two national-level and four provincial-level SME characteristic industrial clusters were added last year, all leading the province.

Revitalizing Traditional Industries

At the new factory area of Minfeng Special Paper Co., Ltd. in Haiyan, two production lines of the first-phase project are undergoing trial production.

“The new factory construction project of our company is divided into Phase I and Phase II. The Phase I project involves upgrading and technological transformation of the new No. 8 machine and the new No. 20 machine, including the renewal of the distributed control system of the production line, the drive control system, and the transformer,” a relevant person in charge of Minfeng Special Paper said, adding that the Phase II project is planned to be completed and put into trial production before the end of March this year.

It is reported that the equipment renewal investment for the Minfeng Special Paper Haiyan new factory project exceeds 500 million yuan. Here, an automated production line can produce 500 meters of large-scale roll paper per minute, increasing production capacity by nearly 30%. The equipment renewal has also led to an improvement in product quality, enabling Minfeng Special Paper to firmly hold the initiative in the market. Currently, the  Haiyan new factory area has built five production lines, with an annual production capacity of over 60,000 tons.

Taking the road of digital and intelligent transformation has become a consensus among industrial enterprises in the whole city. "On one hand, we are 'tapping into the existing capacity' by promoting traditional manufacturing enterprises to increase technological transformation and facilitating green and low-carbon technological transformation of enterprises with high energy consumption and high emissions; on the other hand, we are 'expanding the increment' by centering on the establishment of future factories and intelligent factories, and encouraging enterprises to increase the application of industrial robots, industrial Internet, and big data analysis to enhance the digitalization level," said an official in charge from Jiaxing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology.

Last year, Jiaxing rejuvenated traditional industries through a tripartite systemic upgrade initiative focusing on “industrial and digital transformation”, “industrial upgrading and capacity replacement”, and the “Chain Leader + Chain Owner System”.

According to official statistics, from January to November last year, 17 key traditional manufacturing sectors in our city achieved 165.52 billion yuan in above-designated-size industrial added value, securing the second-highest position in the province. The year-on-year growth rate reached 13.4%, ranking first province-wide.

Strengthening the development of emerging industries and fostering their growth

At the southwest intersection of Guangyi Road and Yaao Road in Jiaxing Nanhu High-Tech Industrial Development Zone (Jiaxing Science and Technology City), the construction site of YUNENG Technology Co., Ltd.'s R&D Center demonstrates vibrant progress. This 3-billion-yuan strategic project occupies 21 mu (approx. 14,000㎡) with planned 54,000㎡ total floor area, including a 32,000㎡ cutting-edge R&D complex and auxiliary facilities. Upon completion, it will serve as both corporate headquarters and national high-level enterprise research platform, striving to build a national-level enterprise research platform with high-level scientific and technological innovation.

The Nanhu High-tech Zone (Jiaxing Science and Technology City) is actively playing the role of the main platform. Currently, a number of major industrial projects like the YUNENG Technology Co., Ltd.'s R&D Center are under construction, which will help cultivate and expand emerging industries and promote high-quality economic development.

Nanhu High-tech Zone is actively promoting the "10,000 mu, 100 billion yuan" new industry platform, focusing on a semiconductor industry chain from raw materials to smart terminal applications. It has formed a significant integrated circuit industry cluster, achieving recognition as “Annual Outstanding Integrated Circuit Ecosystem Hub” and securing a position in “China’s Top-Tier 18 Integrated Circuit Industrial Bases” at the 2025 Semiconductor Investment Summit.

Jiaxing is actively fostering the growth of strategic emerging industries, harnessing new-quality productive forces to reshape high-quality development momentum and advantages. The continuous growth of the integrated circuit industry serves as a vivid example of this dynamic progress.

Last year, Jiaxing actively implemented the "135N" advanced manufacturing cluster cultivation project, focusing on strengthening the photovoltaic new energy, smart IoT, and new energy vehicle sectors, while specializing in integrated circuits and high-end CNC machine tools. From January to November, the added value of the city's strategic emerging industries accounted for 44.6% of the total industrial added value, ranking second in the province.

Strategic Planning for Future Industries

In Tongxiang city, drones transport pathology samples; in Haining city, they conduct urban inspections along designated routes; in Xiuzhou district, they perform seeding, fertilization, and spraying, etc.. The low-altitude economy is gradually evolving from concept to reality, showcasing immense potential and broad applications, making the skies busier than ever.

In September last year, Jiaxing released the "Implementation Plan for High-Quality Development of the Low-Altitude Economy (2024-2027)," outlining the "3+2+2+X" overall development framework. The plan aims to establish Jiaxing as a "Yangtze River Delta Low-Altitude Economy Hub" by 2027.

As industries like artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, and the low-altitude economy rise, Jiaxing is strategically planning for hydrogen energy storage, nuclear medicine, and aerospace manufacturing, opening new fields in computing power, brain-like computing, and life sciences. Jiaxing Port's hydrogen energy and Haiyan's nuclear medicine have been listed as provincial future industry pilot zones, with the city leading in computing power scale both in terms of existing and upcoming infrastructure.

Last year, Jiaxing established an work mechanism of Innovation-Driven Leadership, Flagship-Enterprise Anchored Support, and Application-Oriented Traction, and released version 2.0 policies for AI and hydrogen energy, forming a comprehensive support system encompassing land, talent, funding, innovation resources, new infrastructure, and application scenarios. The hydrogen energy industry chain, including hydrogen production, storage, and transportation, as well as fuel cells, is now well-established. The Haiyan Nuclear Technology Application (Isotope) Industrial Park, with projects such as from Novartis, is set to become the largest nuclear medicine production base in China. Additionally, leading private aerospace companies like LandSpace and Guoxing Aerospace have settled in Jiaxing Port and Xiuzhou District.