There were 21,000 companies newly registered in Jiading District from January to October, up over 20 percent year on year in spite of negative factors such as the COVID-19, constant changes in the international situation and a decline in the car industry. The result has been achieved thanks to the efforts of the district’s 33 economic zones. “We have met unparalleled difficulties in building up the economy this year,” said Chen Jianzhong, general manager of Jiading Industrial Zone Economic Development Co. “The increase in tax revenue in our economic zone in January dipped to minus 35 percent. It edged up and finally achieved a 0.4 percent positive increase in October,” Chen added. In annual tax revenue, the company remains the biggest earner of all the district’s economic zones in recent years. Registered companies in the zone include Volvo, Yuanmai Trading, Schindler and United Imaging, all leaders in their industries. The district’s investment sector was caught unawares by the COVID-19 outbreak. Despite that, the industrial zone development company offered registration for 2,910 new companies from January to November, twice as many as in the same period of 2019. It achieved new registered capital of 16.1 billion yuan (US$2.46 billion), up 223.72 percent. The key, according to Chen, was making full use of online business platforms and holding promotion events in targeted regions. State-owned companies in Jiading are playing a key role in attracting investment. Jiajia Group, a state-owned investment and domestic trading company, has signed cooperation deals with 11 economic zones in the district and helped introduce 150 companies. In addition, communities and towns in the district are also attracting investment. Officials in Anting Town, for example, sought to attract leading companies in the car industry and parts manufacturers bringing with them a list of upstream suppliers and downstream customers to add to the town’s competitiveness. Jiangqiao Town has focused on attracting investment mainly in sectors including medical care, new materials, smart services and manufacturing, car research, development and design, fashion, innovation and tourism. Jiading has more than 200,000 registered companies and is determined to attract more with no doubt.