Jiading, Kunshan and Taicang Play Pivotal Roless in Yangtze Delta's Growth

The Jiading District of Shanghai and the cities of Kunshan and Taicang in the neighboring Jiangsu province are geographically close to each other. Often referred to as "Jia-Kun-Tai," they are making massive contributions to the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region.

Taking the automotive industry chain as an example, the three areas have joined strengths to build cross-regional industrial and supply chains and have promoted industrial integration to create a world-class automotive industry cluster.

In the first half of 2025, Jiading, focusing on vehicle R&D and manufacturing, as well as the backward integration of the automotive industry, achieved an automotive industry output of 141.79 billion yuan (US$19.9 billion), a year-on-year increase of 7 percent.

Kunshan, dedicated to the development of automotive electronics, reported an automotive industry output of 65 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 1.5 percent.

Taicang, focusing on key automotive components, has gathered nearly 800 automotive companies, and the output of the automotive industry stood at 39.03 billion yuan in the first half of 2025, a year-on-year increase of 3.7 percent.

Collaborative development

"This represents a perfect integration of scientific and technological innovation with advanced manufacturing; here, high-end R&D platforms and advanced manufacturing bases are creating powerful synergies," said Chen Huifen, deputy director of the Jiading District Development and Reform Commission. Within the core circle of the "Jia-Kun-Tai" region, over 6,000 relevant companies are serving as anchor points for collaborative innovation.

In the field of new energy vehicles, this collaborative innovation is particularly impressive.

Recently, Qingtao Power Technology (Shanghai) Co's first all-solid-state battery has completed pilot-scale testing. The pilot production line, launched in July this year, is a key physical platform for pushing laboratory technology to industrial applications.

According to Xu Dongdong, head of the company's comprehensive operations department, the company is a pioneer in technology innovation and, at the same time, a connector to bring upstream and downstream players together.

"We continue to focus on the R&D and mass production of next-generation power batteries, and in terms of collaborative innovation, we can also connect Jiading's automotive industry infrastructure with the new materials and high-end manufacturing advantages of the Kunshan-Taicang region. This cross-regional collaborative model can help upgrade the overall industrial capacity in the region," Xu noted.

Comprehensive test track

The Anting Test Track of the Shanghai Motor Vehicle Inspection Certification & Tech Innovation Center Co Ltd (SMVIC) is the latest landmark of the collaborative development of the Jia-Kun-Tai industrial region.

Every day, numerous automotive OEMs and parts manufacturers from the Jia-Kun-Tai region and even the Yangtze River Delta region undergo "check-ups" and "diagnoses" at the test tracks.

"Our core competitiveness lies in our 'full-scenario road condition simulation system.' As Shanghai's only comprehensive passenger vehicle test ground, the nearly 3,000-acre testing area covers a network of test roads totaling nearly 30 kilometers in length, including nearly 70 typical road types, forming a complete test scenario library covering everything from daily commutes to extreme environments," explained Wu Xiaodong, deputy director of SMVIC's Vehicle and Parts Testing Center.

Wu thinks that the technology services from Jiading not only help the Jia-Kun-Tai region work together better and improve the Yangtze River Delta's growth, but also help combine and enhance resources in the automotive industry, unlocking the full potential for innovation and development.

According to Wu, the Anting Test Track is the first comprehensive test track in China specifically for passenger vehicles and is built to international standards.

Data sharing

Beyond industrial and infrastructure collaboration, data sharing remains a key area for improvement

Wang Tianchi, a scholar from the School of Economics and the Yangtze River Delta Research Institute of Shanghai University, pointed out that the industry-relevant data-sharing mechanisms in the three areas of Jiading, Kunshan and Taicang still differ.

"We hope that the government can build a 'trustworthy data space' in the region to jointly establish infrastructure for cross-regional data circulation. This will make data more visible, manageable and transferable," he said.