In July, the city of Changshu in Jiangsu province is witnessing a surge of activity even more intense than the summer heat, centered on innovative practices in future-oriented industries.

On the 9th, a domestically developed dexterous robotic hand, previously featured on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, marked a new phase of scaled development for humanoid robot core components—the Changshu Intelligent Manufacturing Base for Asia Vets was officially inaugurated.

On the 10th, the 2026 (18th) Suzhou International Elite Entrepreneurship Week Changshu Sub-venue event and the 2nd Yangtze River Delta Deep Sea Technology Innovation and Development Conference were held. The "Changshu City High-Quality Development Action Plan for the Deep Sea Technology Industry (2026-2028)" was released, proposing to boost the city's overall marine economy scale to exceed 52 billion yuan by 2028.

On the 11th, the 2026 "Intelligent Computing Future" Industrial Ecology Conference and the 1st IEIIC International Embodied AI Innovation Competition Awards Ceremony took place. High-quality tech innovation teams from across the globe gathered in Changshu, competing with core embodied AI projects. A batch of cutting-edge technologies are poised to move from the laboratory to the industrial stage.

Three consecutive days, three major events, across three distinct sectors. While seemingly independent, they collectively sketch the new developmental coordinates for this economically powerful county-level city. Starting from traditional strengths in textiles and apparel, equipment manufacturing, and automobiles, Changshu is now deepening its strategic layout into future industries like embodied AI and deep-sea technology, accelerating its transition from a major manufacturing hub to a highland for future industries.

Industrial Foundation Supports New Future Pathways

Focusing the lens on the Asia Vets Intelligent Manufacturing Base, a pair of mechanical dexterous hands smaller than a human palm might serve as a key to observing Changshu's future industries.

As the first domestic enterprise to achieve commercial mass production of five-fingered dexterous hands, Asia Vets spent a decade overcoming the "last centimeter" challenge for precise manipulation in humanoid robots. Its products hold over 60% of the global market share, with projected deliveries of 30,000 to 50,000 dexterous hands this year.

It is less known that when this company settled in Changshu in 2019, it was still in a challenging startup phase. Changshu accompanied its growth all the way, offering policy support, supply chain integration, and open application scenarios. Today, a robotics industry chain covering R&D, manufacturing, verification, and mass production is gradually taking shape here.

This case is not isolated. In recent years, aligning with Suzhou's "Six-Dimensional Space" AI characteristic cluster development, Changshu has accelerated the creation of an "AI+" industrial ecosystem centered on the Intelligent Computing Future City. Currently, the city has gathered over 200 AI-related enterprises, built 6 computing power centers, deployed 450.9 Petaflops of operational computing power, and has over 10,000 Petaflops under construction. This forms a complete industrial system from core components and whole-machine manufacturing to computing power support, scenario application, and robot training.

This industrial foundation also adds significant meaning to the inaugural IEIIC International Embodied AI Innovation Competition held in Changshu. On one hand, the competition established a "6+1" global event system covering North America, Europe, the Yangtze River Delta, and other regions, attracting 47 national high-tech enterprises and 8 national-level "Little Giant" specialized and sophisticated SMEs to compete. Over 80% of the projects explicitly expressed needs for industrial localization.

On the other hand, competing teams engaged deeply with enterprises and industrial parks, conducting precise matchmaking across the industry chain's upstream and downstream. Winning projects directly entered a full-chain service system including platform investment attraction, incubation support, capital对接, and scenario validation.

Simultaneously, the launch of the "Physical AI MALL," the unveiling of the China Electronics Enterprise Association AI Application Committee, the signing for the construction of the Yangtze River Delta Technological Innovation Center for Embodied AI, and the establishment of the Integrated Space-Air-Ground Physical AI Operation and Control Network Alliance... Changshu is continuously empowering innovation by building a series of platforms.

From "gathering talent through competition" to "developing industry through competition," from introducing projects to cultivating industries, Changshu is not merely hosting an international competition but fostering an ecosystem that connects global innovation resources and accelerates technological industrialization. This reflects an upgrade in industrial organization methods and a reshaping of the development logic for county-level economies.

Prospering from the Sea Opens New Growth Space

If embodied AI represents a new opportunity in the era of artificial intelligence, then deep-sea technology is another new calling card for Changshu's bet on future industries.

Why would a county-level city without a coastline set its sights on the deep sea? The answer lies within the industrial chain.

Jiangsu Hengtong Huahai Technology Co., Ltd. is an enterprise with total contracting capabilities for transoceanic submarine cable systems. This year, Academician Fan Dianyuan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering joined the company full-time, promoting the deep integration of laser optoelectronic technology with marine communications. An innovation center for the deep-sea communication manufacturing sector, led by the company, commenced establishment, and the Joint Research Institute for High-End Marine Intelligent Equipment was simultaneously put into operation.

Concurrently, CCCC Tianhe developed a new type of offshore wind power rock-socketed drilling rig filling a domestic technological gap. Shenyuanhai's DP1/DP2/DP3 full-series dynamic positioning system won the National Science and Technology Progress Award second prize. Longteng Special Steel's marine section steel holds over 60% of the domestic market share. Liyien's marine propellers address a key短板 in high-end ship power systems... A group of leading enterprises are continuously extending Changshu's deep-sea technology industry chain.

To date, Changshu has gathered 50 marine-related enterprises, with industrial output value reaching 15 billion yuan in the first five months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 21.6%. More importantly, Changshu has begun systematic布局 around venturing into the deep sea.

The "Changshu City High-Quality Development Action Plan for the Deep Sea Technology Industry (2026-2028)" released at the conference proposes focusing on two key directions: deep-sea communication-sensing integration and deep-sea intelligent equipment. It aims to build a "one core, multiple points" industrial layout, creating Suzhou's core承载区 for the deep-sea technology industry, Jiangsu's innovation and development center for the deep-sea technology industry, and the Yangtze River Delta's江海联动 development cluster.

By 2028, the city's overall marine economy scale is targeted to exceed 52 billion yuan, with the deep-sea technology industry scale surpassing 20 billion yuan.

During the conference, platforms such as the Deep Sea Technology Testing Public Service Platform, the Young Scientists Future Community, and the Joint Research Institute for Marine High-End Intelligent Equipment were successively established. Over 50 "unveiling the list and appointing the leader" technological demands were simultaneously released to promote collaborative攻关 between universities, research institutes, and enterprises.

From individual enterprise technological breakthroughs, to the aggregation of innovation platforms, and further to the construction of an industrial system, Changshu's布局 in deep-sea technology is not simply entering a new赛道. It is leveraging existing advantages in equipment manufacturing, optical communication, new materials, and intelligent control to carve out new growth space.

Ecosystem Momentum Reshapes New Engine for County-Level Economy

Looking at Changshu's industrial development in recent years reveals a distinct characteristic: new industries are not built "from scratch" but continuously "grow out" from traditional优势 industries.

The three pillar industries of automobiles and parts, high-end equipment manufacturing, and textiles and apparel, each with output value exceeding one hundred billion yuan, remain the fundamental base of Changshu's manufacturing.

The automotive industry clusters over 2,500 upstream and downstream enterprises with overall revenue exceeding 170 billion yuan, currently pushing towards new energy vehicles and automotive electronics. The high-end equipment manufacturing industry clusters over 5,200 enterprises with overall revenue over 240 billion yuan, accelerating breakthroughs into the embodied AI field, with industrial intelligent robots入选 the Jiangsu provincial characteristic优势 industry catalog. The textile and apparel industry clusters over 5,000 enterprises with overall revenue over 100 billion yuan, currently依托 leading enterprises like Bosideng to accelerate upgrades towards outdoor sports and tech fashion.

It is precisely on this foundation that Changshu has further constructed a "Six New" industrial matrix comprising green new energy, optoelectronic new technology,前沿 new materials, life science new technology, acoustics new applications, and AI new scenarios, while前瞻布局 future industry tracks like deep-sea technology, hydrogen energy, high-performance特种 materials, and 3D printing.

This布局 has triggered "chemical reactions" between industries. New-generation information technology continuously extends into the automotive electronics field, equipment manufacturing accelerates integration with embodied AI, acoustic technology finds application in marine exploration, new materials empower marine engineering equipment, and artificial intelligence deeply渗透 the entire manufacturing process, forming a development pattern of mutual empowerment and交叉融合 between industries.

Compared to merely attracting a single enterprise or landing a standalone project, Changshu places greater emphasis on building an industrial ecosystem. From the Intelligent Computing Future City to the International Embodied AI Innovation Competition; from manufacturing innovation centers to joint research institutes; from computing power infrastructure to robot training grounds; from "unveiling the list" mechanisms to international cooperation platforms... Changshu, with its ever-increasing capability for industrial innovation organization, continuously汇聚 technology, talent, capital, scenarios, and other innovation resources.

Currently, as a new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation加速演进, competition in future industries is increasingly not about单项 technology but about industrial systems, innovation ecosystems, and resource organization capabilities.

Changshu's exploration indicates that for county-level economies, future industries do not necessarily rely solely on "cultivation from zero." They can leverage mature manufacturing systems to achieve跨界融合 and iterative upgrades, constructing a new通道 for continuous development between traditional and future industries.

In this sense, what Changshu is布局 is not merely several future industries, but exploring a new paradigm for county-level economies to cultivate new quality productive forces. As manufacturing advantages are continuously transformed into innovation advantages, and industrial advantages evolve into ecosystem advantages, the future of this manufacturing powerhouse holds even more room for imagination.