(Yicai) Oct. 24 -- Shanghai today hosted a meeting of the Global Business Districts Innovation Club to discuss innovation, coordinated development, and openness.

The club’s get-together was held in Suzhou Creek in the city’s central Jing’an district, which recently set up the Suhewan Functional Zone to foster innovative firms and global services.

Shanghai and Jing'an have made progress in recent years, said GBD Innovation Club Chairman Pierre-Yves Guice, who is also chief executive of the La Défense business district in Paris. The club has always paid close attention to the development of China's business districts, he said, adding that there have been sustained improvements in Shanghai's investment environment.

The Suhewan FZ has already attracted about 500 innovative tech firms, according to the head of its science and technology commission. They include biopharma businesses such as AstraZeneca, semiconductor makers like NXP and Milliway Microelectronics Technology, fintech firms, including UnionPay Advisors and Shanghai Tele-hot Information Technology, and manufacturers like Modern Auto and Hager Electric, the official said.

The zone has become a new example of scientific and technological innovation and development prosperity in downtown Shanghai, the person added.

The Suhewan Functional Zone has contributed CNY35 billion (USD4.9 billion) in tax revenue since 2020, with the payments rising 14.71 percent year-on-year to CNY11.6 billion in 2023.

The GBD Innovation Club was jointly formed in 2018 by La Défense, Chicago's Loop Alliance, Canada’s Montréal Destination Centre-Ville, Beijing's Central Business District, and Guangzhou Tianhe Central Business District, aiming to enhance cooperation and exchange, share experiences, and innovate practices among global CBDs.

Editor: Tom Litting