a. Major functions

(1) To formulating and implementing policies and reform plans for foreign trade, economic cooperation and foreign investment; formulating and implementing local legal documents and administrative policies for foreign economy, trade and investment; responsible for coordination between laws, regulations, policies, international treaties and agreements of foreign economy and trade; guiding reform of state-owned foreign economic and trade enterprises in the province.

(2) To formulating and implementing middle- and long-term plans and development strategies for imports and exports of the province, analyzing international economic and trade trends and imports and exports of the province to propose ways for regulation to reach overall balance and structural adjustment; formulating and implementing import and export product quota bidding policies; researching and spreading new trade modes (including e-commerce); responsible for compilation, announcement and implementation of import and export quota plans and decision and issue of quota licenses; responsible for the province's anti-dumping, countervailing, safeguards and other trade remedy measures and guiding responses to foreign countries' anti-dumping measures against the province's exports; administering export products following their trade mark registration; guiding export advertisement and publicity.

(3) To formulating and implementing policies and regulations concerning technology trade of the province, and policies encouraging export of technology and complete sets of equipment; administering technology and equipment imports and international bidding of the province, and export and re-export of state restricted technology and imported technology; implementing state export regulation policies and issuing export licenses to avoid proliferation.

(4) To analyze and research foreign investments in the province and provide regular reports to the Provincial Government; guiding overall foreign investment work in the province; formulating and implementing provincial regulations and policies concerning foreign investment and participating in formulation of development strategies and middle- and long-term plans for foreign investment in the province; approval and submission of the set-up of foreign-invested enterprises above limits, in restricted categories or concerning quota and license; approval of contracts, articles of association and their changes of foreign-invested projects; supervising observance and implementation of state laws and regulations and contracts and articles of association by foreign-invested enterprises; guiding and administering investment promotion work and import and export of foreign-invested enterprises in the province.

(5) To be responsible for foreign economic cooperation work of the province; establishing and developing economic cooperation with economic governmental departments of relevant foreign countries; implementing state policies and regulations concerning foreign economic cooperation; administering, guiding and supervising overseas contracted projects, labor service and designing consultancy in the province.

(6) To implementing national (regional) foreign economic and trade policies and state policies for multi-lateral economy and trade; representing the Provincial Government to participate in activities hosted by international economic and trade organizations; responsible for implementation of international economic and trade treaties and agreements in the province; administering multi- and bi-lateral aid and donations to the province; administering economic and technological cooperation between the province and the UN and other international organizations.

(7) To be responsible for the approval and submission of the foreign economic and trade rights of enterprises; responsible for preliminary approval of international freight agency enterprises; undertaking qualification assessment stipulated in laws and regulations; implementing administrative measures and policies of overseas development and investment; approving, submitting, supervising and administering provincial enterprises (non-financial enterprises) investing abroad; administering approval and submission of business representative offices set up in the province by foreign countries, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan; guiding and supervising large foreign economic and trade fairs, exhibitions, promotional fairs, seminars and business promotion activities held at home and abroad; formulating and implementing administrative measures of holding these activities abroad, in accordance with state and provincial regulations.

(8) To participate in research of macro-regulatory policies of foreign economy and trade in the province and providing relevant suggestions; responsible for selection of provincial-level foreign economic and trade development fund projects and administration of venture capitals; supervising domestic and overseas state assets of directly affiliated enterprises; guiding and administering the financial and accounting work of foreign economy and trade; responsible for statistics and its publicity and consultancy of foreign economy and trade in the province; responsible for standardization and information industry of foreign economy and trade in the province.

(9) To administrate the overseas economic and trade network of the province; guiding and administering the building of foreign economic and trade human resources; responsible for the building, personnel selection and administration of overseas economic and trade teams of the Department.

(10) To implement state policies, laws and regulations concerning electromechanical products import and export and formulating local policies and regulations; administering electromechanical products import and export and its bidding in the province; promoting export of electromechanical products and its technology transformation.

(11) To be responsible for approval, submission, coordination, service and administration of state- and provincial-level development zones in the province; responsible for coordination, policy research, guidance and service of state-level new and high tech industrial development zones; responsible for the provincial side's work involved in construction of the Suzhou Industrial Park.

(12) To be requested by the Provincial Government to guiding and administering the work of the Provincial CCPIT; administering the work of relevant associations and societies.

(13) To undertake other work assigned by the Provincial Government.

b. Name of the leader: Zhang Lei, Director General

c. Profile of the leader

Mr. Zhang Lei was born in July, 1961 in Huai’an. He attended work in August, 1982 and joined the Communist Party in April, 1985.  He took the Machinery Designing major in Nanjing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics in September 1978 and became a designer, Deputy Secretary and Secretary of the Youth League respectively in Suzhou Changfeng Machinery Factory. He was appointed as the Director of the Office of Suzhou Youth League in April 1988 then the Deputy Secretary of Suzhou Youth League. Mr. Zhang Lei was appointed as the Deputy Director of Suzhou Electronic Industry Bureau in June, 1994 and take the concurrent position of the General Manager of Suzhou First Electric Wire Factory form the year June, 1996. He became the General Manager, Deputy Board Chairman, Deputy Party Secretary of Suzhou Electronic Holding Company Ltd. and the Deputy Director of Suzhou Electronic Industry Bureau in November 1996. In January 1998, Mr. Zhang Lei took the position of Director and Party Secretary of Suzhou Science Commission and the Deputy Director of Suzhou New Development Zone. From August 2000, he acted as the Deputy Party Secretary, Acting Mayor and Mayor of Kunshan. From August 2001, Mr. Zhang Lei was appointed as the Party Secretary of Kunshan Municipal CPC Committee. From April 2003, he took the position as Director General of Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of Jiangsu. Mr. Zhang Lei is the representative of the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.