The inaugural Wenling Businesspeople Conference opens in Wenling, a county-level city in Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province on Sept 21. [Photo/taizhou.com.cn]

The inaugural Wenling Businesspeople Conference opened in Wenling, a county-level city in Taizhou, East China's Zhejiang province on Sept 21.

The conference witnessed the signing of 67 projects worth 45.41 billion yuan ($6.99 billion) that will be established in Wenling.

The event was part of local authorities' efforts to attract Wenling natives who run successful businesses to invest in their hometown and contribute to the city's development.

In 2021, Wenling's GDP surpassed 120 million yuan and was ranked 16th among counties (county-level cities) nationwide in terms of comprehensive strength. The output value of industrial enterprises above designated size in the city also topped 100 billion yuan that year.

Many of the conference participants expressed their confidence in Wenling's development.

Wang Liang, deputy general manager of Zhejiang Xingyao Semiconductor Co Ltd, said that Wenling's sustained development in characteristic and advantageous industries and strategic emerging industries had impressed him. He predicted that the city will see more robust growth momentum in the future.

Cagri Cevik, chairman of the China division of FEV Group, a German auto research and development giant, noted that the automobile industry in Wenling has a solid foundation and good development momentum thanks to the strong support from the government. He added that he is bullish about the company's development in Wenling after seeing so many investment projects in the city.