Known as the “Capital of Ten Dynasties”, Nanjing’s vibrant economy, strong talent pool and cultural heritage make it an attractive metropolis.

In 229, when the emperor of Eastern Wu chose what is today Nanjing as the site for his new capital, its strategic location on the Yangtze River was clear. The living environment was pleasant. Over the ensuing decades, the surrounding region developed into China’s economic heartland. This strengthened the settlement, which built its name as a defender of civilisation against northern invaders, and spreader of Chinese culture. By attracting the best scholars, it became an open centre of advanced learning.

“With excellent communications and market access, a strong and innovative industrial base, top-tier universities, and a good environment for business and living, the advantages that historically made Nanjing the strong and powerful capital still hold today.” Wang Dongning, director of Nanjing Municipal Investment Promotion Bureau, shows great enthusiasm when talking about the city. Notably, Nanjing has always been an innovation hub and one of the leading business and investment locations in China.

Economic gravity
Historically known as Jiangnan, the Yangtze Delta region is one of the world’s biggest manufacturing hubs; as well as the richest region, per capita, in China. On its own, it accounts for about a quarter of the national GDP. Nanjing belongs to this region. “With 36m people living in the metropolitan area, we have an enormous market,” says Wang. “We also have very good supply chains. Upstream or downstream, almost everything is within an hour’s drive.”

Proximity to suppliers and local markets was certainly one reason why BSH China chose Nanjing for one of its two big China factories, as well as its Region Greater China headquarters and R&D centre. Over the past two decades, the Chinese subsidiary of the German home appliances maker has enjoyed double-digit annual revenue growth (CAGR) in a market which, should this year, become its largest single country market, says company CFO Simon Song.

Transport links have always been Nanjing’s strength. During the Ming Dynasty in the 15th century, its docks were put to glorious use as the launching point for the voyages of Zheng He. An early standard bearer of globalisation, the admiral’s treasure fleets sailed as far as Africa and the Red Sea. Today, the city has one of the world’s largest inland ports, although its position as one of China’s five big hubs for road and rail now matters more, in addition to its international airport.

“We’re an international company and it has to be convenient for all of our partners to reach us, whether they are foreign or Chinese,” says Song. “Without Nanjing, I don’t think BSH would be where we are today.”

Talent pool
A manufacturer of course needs engineers, and Nanjing has plenty. Southeast University, which BSH runs a joint R&D centre with, is one of the best of its kind in China. In recent years, according to Song, 33 research programmes of the centre have looked into areas including AI, materials and energy. Nanjing University is the city’s other top college. In 2023, Times Higher Education ranked it seventh overall in China.

Altogether, Nanjing has 51 institutions of higher education teaching nearly a million students, says Wang. Nanjing is also home to 94 fellows from China’s leading research institutions, and is ranked third in the country in terms of the number of top tier universities.

Among Nanjing’s centres of research, a rising star is the Turing AI Institute of Nanjing. The Turing Prize winner Andrew Chi-Chih Yao set it up five years ago, to focus on the industrial application and commercialisation of artificial intelligence. “At Tsinghua, they will choose a research topic by reading academic papers. Here we start with an outstanding industrial problem,” says Dr Li Qiang, the Institute’s CEO.

To date, the Institute has incubated and invested in 43 AI start- ups, now valued at around nine billion yuan. “Nanjing has good policies, great universities and mature industrial chains. For product development, we are rooted in a strong manufacturing base,” says Li.

An inviting city
When Nanjing locals are asked to describe their city’s culture, the word they will often use is baorong, which has been variously translated as inclusive, open-minded and tolerant. Visitors, indeed, often remark on this attitude.

“Welcoming outsiders and their ideas is our deeply rooted tradition,” says Xue Bing, a Nanjing historian and author. “We have a high graduate retention rate. So it’s what you would expect in a city with so many educated individuals. We want to embrace the advanced elements of other cultures.”

Because this mindset is evident in the attitude of officials, Jiang Li, chairman of TICA Climate Solutions, likens Nanjing
to world cities like London or San Francisco in its business culture. TICA makes air filtration and conditioning systems for semiconductor fabrication plants, hospitals and pharmaceutical factories. Jiang set up the company in Hainan, before eventually choosing Nanjing for its headquarters.

“The government here really understands the mindset of business,” says Jiang, who happened to be travelling to seek new business opportunities in Zurich, away from his family at Chinese New Year, when he was interviewed. At the Turing Institute, meanwhile, their CEO praised Nanjing’s spirit of keeping promises; the degree to which contracts are honoured in the city. In a 2021 survey carried out by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Nanjing ranked first among Chinese cities in terms of legal environment for medium and small-sized companies.

From business-friendly to expat-friendly, for both healthcare and education, Nanjing ranked ahead of its peer cities in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2022 emerging Chinese city rankings. It has also scored highly in surveys of well-being. A 2022 survey conducted by Oriental Outlook magazine and the think tank Liaowang Institute named Nanjing as one of China’s happiest cities.

“Industries are developed by talent, who are attracted by great cities,” says Wang, who organised the Nanjing ESG Investment Forum in February 2023. Nanjing government officials have also carried out trips to Hong Kong, Germany, France and South Korea to promote and garner new investment opportunities recently.

Developed surroundings
With 45 percent green cover, Nanjing’s many historic attractions are complemented by its parks. These include Purple Mountain, which has more than 200 heritage and scenic tourist sites, overlooking downtown Nanjing’s Xuanwu Lake and further out, the Yangtze River.

One-and-a-half kilometres wide when it flows through Nanjing, Asia’s longest river was badly polluted just a decade ago. But sentiments have changed, and people are now more conscious of and committed to protecting the environment.

Throughout its 1,800 years of unbroken existence, the influence of Nanjing as
a centre of advanced culture and a vibrant economy is being felt throughout China and across the world.

While visitors used to remark on China’s pollution, however, today they are more likely to comment on the speed at which it is being cleaned up. That said, the work of the Yangtze River Innovation Center for Ecological Civilization has played a remarkable role.

Established in 2019, its job is one of bringing government agencies, companies and talented scientists together to reduce pollution at its source and clean up contaminated areas. Today, for example, Li Aimin, chief scientist and vice director of the Center, claims that there are some indicators that show that
the water entering the Yangtze from Nanjing’s 97 kilometres of coastline is now cleaner than the river itself. The Center is granted around 200 patents every year. “There’s a lot of innovation in what we do,” Li says. “We’re finding responsible and sustainable ways to make [the water] and surrounding areas clean.” Today, finless porpoises can be seen swimming in the river—a sign of improved ecological biodiversity.

As the leading research institute of its kind along the Yangtze, the Center’s methods and technologies are now being adopted upstream, for example, in Wuhan and Chongqing, and abroad. Just as under the Ming dynasty and, indeed, throughout its 1,800 years of unbroken existence, the influence of Nanjing as a centre of advanced culture and a vibrant economy is being felt throughout China and across the world.

News source：The Economist（FEBRUARY 25TH-MARCH 3RD 2023）