An increasing number of large global companies are choosing to launch major new projects in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, due to the rapid growth of the internet of things industry in the city.

The total output value of the East China city's IoT industry has grown by more than 30 percent year-on-year for three consecutive years, reaching 210 billion yuan ($31.9 billion) in 2016.

This has created a concentration of IoT talent and companies in Wuxi that makes the city even more attractive to companies deciding where to locate a new tech project, according to Xu Jing, vice-president of pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca China.

"The cluster effect gives Wuxi's IoT industry an edge," said Xu.

There were more than 2,000 IoT companies based in Wuxi as of the end of 2016, up from just 248 in 2009, and there are more than 150,000 people working in IoT in the city, figures show.

"Thanks to the local government's business incentives and talent policies, it's easier for us to find quality partners and recruit high-caliber talent in Wuxi when we implement plans related to intelligent healthcare solutions," Xu added.

These advantages convinced AstraZeneca to choose Wuxi as the city in which to trial their cutting-edge new IoT-driven healthcare ecosystem. The AstraZeneca Commercial Innovation Center is now based in Wuxi's National Hi-tech District.

Wuxi's investment in smart city projects is also helping the city to forge partnerships with major companies such as Alibaba Cloud, the cloud-computing subsidiary of e-commerce group Alibaba.

Alibaba Cloud is working with Wuxi on the construction of China's first IoT town in Hongshan of Wuxi, a business hub for IoT companies that will also be a smart city, with its infrastructure controlled through an IoT platform.

"Wuxi is one of China's pilot cities to promote the internet of things and has remained the leader nationwide in smart city construction over the past four years," said Ku Wei, general manager of Alibaba Cloud's IoT division.

"We're very honored to work with Wuxi to further promote IoT infrastructure projects."

According to Ni Guangnan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, even more companies are likely to choose to invest in Wuxi in the future, as the city's lead in the IoT industry now appears unassailable.

"Internet of things is becoming a representative of the new-generation IT industry, and Wuxi carries the hopes of this emerging industry in China," said Ni.

dingyuanyuan@chinadaily.com.cn