By Liu Lu and Wu Xiaoyun

Ten years ago, a green seed sprouted here. Ten years later, a vibrant industrial forest has grown here.

In November 2025, China-Austria Su Tong Eco-Park celebrated its tenth anniversary. As the first national global cooperation platform in Nantong, the park, which has been committed to ‘industry and ecology coexistence’ since its establishment, has spent ten years fulfilling its promise of ‘greening first, then plan’. It has not only attracted 11 ‘hidden champion’ companies from the German-speaking region to settle down, and the total number of foreign-invested enterprises has exceeded 130, but also enabled the large-scale implementation of Austrian passive house technology. More than 70% of the companies use clean energy such as photovoltaics and geothermal energy, and the clean energy utilization rate ranks among the top in the Yangtze River Delta.

Peter Sticht, CEO of STIWA group, stood in front of the office building of STIWA (Nantong). His gaze passed over the factory wall and landed on the vast green spaces and ecological corridors. ‘Ten years ago when we visited here, it was not a mature industrial zone, but this “reserved” green space, moved us more than any preferential policy.’

The impact made the first Austrian company settled in the park grow from a team of just two people renting a standard workshop to a company with over 200 employees. The factory area and registered capital also increased tenfold.

So what has come of this commitment to leaving space for greenery?

A set of data provides the answer: the park's annual average PM2.5 concentration has consistently ranked first in Jiangsu Province; its superior ecological environment has attracted more than 130 foreign-invested enterprises to take root. Over the past decade, the park has established in-depth cooperation with the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber and the Upper Austrian industrial cluster, building a multi-level international cooperation network. In 2021, it was recognized as Jiangsu International Cooperation Park. In June 2024, the Memorandum of Understanding was renewed, further expanding the scope of cooperation and extending its term.

‘Today, when green development has become a global consensus, our choice ten years ago has proven to be visionary.’ Yu Yuesong, a major leader of the Su-Xi-Tong Science and Technology Industrial Park, said, ‘ “Greening first” is not about sacrificing the speed of development, but about reserving space for higher-quality development. When ecology becomes the background, it will inevitably attract like-minded high-quality enterprises.’

【背景阅读】

中奥苏通生态园外资企业总数突破130家

超七成企业用上清洁能源

十年前，一颗绿色的种子在这里破土萌芽；十年后，这里已生长出一片生机盎然的产业森林。

2025年11月，中奥苏通生态园迎来成立十周年。作为南通首个国家级国际合作平台，这个从诞生起就锚定“产业与生态共生”的园区，用十年时间践行“先布绿，后布局”的承诺，不仅吸引11家德语区“隐形冠军”企业扎根、外资企业总数突破130家，更让奥地利被动房技术规模化落地，超七成企业用上光伏、地热等清洁能源，清洁能源使用率稳居长三角前列。

站在施特万（南通）公司的办公楼前，集团董事长彼特·施蒂希特目光越过厂区围墙，落在成片的绿地与生态廊道上。“十年前我们来考察时，这里还不是成熟工业区，但这片‘留出来’的绿色，比任何优惠政策都更打动我们。”

这份打动，让这个首家入驻园区的奥地利企业，从最初2人团队、租赁标准厂房，到如今200多名员工、厂房面积和注册资本扩大10倍。

这份为绿色“留白”的坚守，结果如何？

一组数据给出了答案：园区PM2.5年均浓度持续领跑全省；优质生态底色，吸引了130余家外资企业扎根。十年间，园区与奥地利联邦商会、上奥州产业集群等建立深度合作，构建起多层次国际合作网络，2021年获评江苏省国际合作园区。2024年6月，谅解备忘录续签，合作领域持续拓展、期限延长。

“在绿色发展成为全球共识的今天，我们十年前的选择被证明是富有远见的。”苏锡通科技产业园区主要领导虞越嵩表示，“‘先布绿’不是牺牲发展速度，而是为更高质量的发展预留空间。当生态成为底色，吸引来的必然是志同道合的优质企业。”