Yan Li Mayor of Suzhou, met with Amy Huang, President of GlaxoSmithKline HK/China, and her entourage on their visit to Suzhou on July 3. The mayor briefed the guests on the economic development of Suzhou in recent years and said that GSK, as one of the earliest to settle in Suzhou, had been a witness to the fast growth of the external-oriented economy in SIP and the whole of Suzhou. Yan hoped that GSK would reinforce its R&D and designing capabilities and promote the overall competitiveness of the pharmaceutical industry in Suzhou.

GSK is one of the largest multinational pharmaceutical corporations in the world, which claims 7.3% of the global market sales. The manufacturing facility invested by GSK in SIP in 1997 is producing Lamivudine tablets for BHV for worldwide use. According Amy Huang, GSK has contributed a total of 330 million RMB tax in Suzhou alone, while its annual sales in China reached 5 billion RMB in 2007.