Suzhou's economy demonstrated steady progress and high-quality development momentum in the first seven months of 2026, with industrial upgrades accelerating and new growth drivers strengthening their role. Data released by the Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Statistics on August 25 showed that from January to July, the city's industrial output value above designated size grew 7.1% year-on-year to 2.92145 trillion yuan, while value-added industrial output rose 9.4%, accelerating by 0.1 percentage point compared with the first half of the year. Total imports and exports reached 2.21167 trillion yuan, surging 45.0% year-on-year.

High-end manufacturing leads industrial growth

The city's top five industries generated 1.76184 trillion yuan in output value, up 8.8% year-on-year, accounting for 60.3% of total industrial output above designated size, a 0.6 percentage point increase from a year earlier. Among them, the electronics information industry, electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing, and special equipment manufacturing saw output value growth of 10.0%, 10.5%, and 10.1%, respectively. The release of innovative drug demand drove pharmaceutical manufacturing output value up 10.4%. The top 100 industrial enterprises posted 9.3% output value growth, contributing 3.0 percentage points to overall industrial expansion.

Industrial upgrading accelerated notably, with high-tech manufacturing output value above designated size climbing 11.3% year-on-year, contributing 58.7% of total industrial output growth. The rapid development of "artificial intelligence plus" applications drove production of integrated circuits, optical fibers, and electronic components up 15.0%, 14.0%, and 12.0%, respectively. Service robot output surged 192.4%, while industrial robot production grew 30.5%. Total industrial profits above designated size rose 11.7% in the January-to-June period. From aggregate volume to structural quality, industry's role as an economic anchor has strengthened considerably: value-added output growth accelerated further, high-tech manufacturing contributed nearly 60% of growth, and service robot output nearly tripled, demonstrating how artificial intelligence is fundamentally reshaping Suzhou's manufacturing output structure.

Modern services expand with improved quality

From January to June, operating revenue of service enterprises above designated size grew 10.0% year-on-year. Scientific research and technical services rose 19.3%, multimodal transport and transport agency services increased 15.0%, software and information technology services grew 13.5%, and leasing and business services advanced 11.6%. High-tech services above designated size posted 11.9% revenue growth, accounting for 35.1% of total service revenue, up 2.0 percentage points year-on-year. Strategic emerging services grew 12.5%, outpacing the overall service sector by 2.5 percentage points.

Producer services and consumer services advanced in tandem. Producer services revenue grew 10.8%, contributing 63.3% of total service revenue growth, while consumer services revenue rose 10.2%, with tourism, recreation, and entertainment services up 15.2% and resident travel services up 13.7%. With producer services contributing over 60% and consumer services growing above 10%, the integration of both service categories is resonating with consumption trends, delivering clearer improvements in service sector quality.

Investment structure optimizes with new growth drivers

Fixed asset investment totaled 343.03 billion yuan in the first seven months, down 6.4% year-on-year. Excluding real estate development investment, fixed asset investment remained flat. Industrial investment reached 143.0 billion yuan, up 7.2%, accounting for 41.7% of total fixed asset investment, a 5.2 percentage point increase year-on-year. Driven by the "two new" policies, equipment procurement demand continued to be released, with equipment and tool purchases rising 8.8%, contributing 1.6 percentage points to fixed asset investment growth.

New growth drivers in investment continued to strengthen. High-tech industry investment rose 8.5%, representing 48.2% of industrial investment, up 0.7 percentage points year-on-year. Investment growth in aerospace manufacturing, electronic computer and office equipment manufacturing, and instrumentation manufacturing all exceeded 20%. While overall investment volume declined, the structure improved markedly: excluding real estate, investment turned positive, industrial investment's share rose 5.2 percentage points within a year, and high-tech industry investment now accounts for nearly half of industrial investment, signaling that new quality productive forces are becoming the primary focus of investment.

Consumer market stabilizes with robust online sales

Retail sales of consumer goods grew 3.4% year-on-year in July, maintaining above-3% growth for two consecutive months. From January to July, total retail sales reached 535.73 billion yuan, flat year-on-year but improving by 0.5 percentage points from the first half, reversing the continuous decline seen since April. Basic living goods posted steady growth, with grain, oil, and food products up 5.1% and clothing, footwear, hats, and textiles up 7.8%. Summer tourism, cultural events, and sports competitions boosted accommodation and catering demand, with revenue at hotels and restaurants above designated size rising 8.1% and 9.3%, respectively.

Online retail contributed significantly, with wholesale and retail enterprises above designated size achieving 5.3% growth in online retail sales, contributing 0.8 percentage points to overall retail growth. Consumption represents the most noteworthy variable in this data set: cumulative retail sales turned from negative to flat, July maintained above-3% growth for two straight months, and the dual drivers of online consumption and service consumption have established a preliminary recovery trend.

Foreign trade maintains strong momentum with expanded emerging markets

Total imports and exports reached 2.21167 trillion yuan in the first seven months, up 45.0% year-on-year. Exports totaled 1.31069 trillion yuan, up 36.7%, while imports reached 900.98 billion yuan, surging 59.0%. Trade with Belt and Road Initiative partner countries reached 1.18966 trillion yuan, up 74.9%, accounting for 53.8% of total trade, a 9.2 percentage point increase year-on-year. Trade with ASEAN grew 63.8%.

Export product structure continued to improve. Mechanical and electrical product exports reached 1.08734 trillion yuan, up 45.9%, with electronic components and electrical equipment exports growing 159.7% and 25.7%, respectively. High-tech product exports reached 762.18 billion yuan, up 71.2%, contributing 90.1% of total export growth. Integrated circuit exports surged 204.8%. Foreign trade's role as a powerful engine is evident: Belt and Road markets now account for over half of total trade, high-tech products contribute 90% of export growth, and integrated circuit exports have tripled, demonstrating a shift from scale expansion to structural upgrading in the open economy.

Capital markets expand while prices rise moderately

By the end of July, financial institutions' domestic and foreign currency deposits reached 5.9532 trillion yuan, up 5.3% year-on-year, while loans totaled 6.31675 trillion yuan, up 5.9%, with manufacturing loans rising 11.4% to 1.19993 trillion yuan. From January to July, 14 companies went public domestically and overseas, including eight on the domestic A-share market. By end-July, Suzhou had 296 listed companies, including 235 on the domestic A-share market and 59 on the STAR Market. The city's consumer price index rose 1.0% year-on-year in the first seven months, with clothing prices up 6.0%, medical care up 3.4%, and transport and communications up 1.8%, while food, tobacco, and alcohol prices fell 0.6% and housing prices declined 0.2%.

This year, Suzhou was selected as one of the first batch of national pilot cities for technology finance in capital markets. Manufacturing loan growth outpaced overall loan growth, the pilot city designation for technology finance was secured, and the "Suzhou section" of the capital market continued to expand, with financial resources flowing more rapidly toward the real economy and technology innovation. Moderate price increases and strong livelihood guarantees have created a favorable price environment for stabilizing growth and promoting consumption.