On the evening of December 16, several hundred representatives from Chinese and foreign companies in Suzhou Industrial Park gathered at Suzhou Culture & Arts Center celebrating the upcoming Christmas and enjoying "Carmen" presented by Suzhou Ballet.

Yang Zhiping, Deputy Secretary of SIP Party Working Committee & Director of SIP Administrative Committee, made a speech before the performance. He reviewed SIP's achievements in 2014 and estimated total GDP would increase by 8.5% to 200 billion yuan in spite of challenging economic situations both at home and abroad, thanks to "continuous optimization of economic structure and years of efforts in promoting transformation and upgrading".

2014 marks the 20th anniversary of SIP and a new milestone in its history. At its 16th meeting in October, China-Singapore SIP Joint Steering Council spoke highly of SIP's achievements and granted a series of new policies supporting its technological innovation, system reform, and HR services. Yang said the government hoped to join hands with business community in realizing more glories.

The four-act opera "Carmen" composed by Georges Bizet in 1874 tells the tragic love between a Gypsy girl Carmen and a soldier Don Jose in early 19th century. Local young artists used their excellent skills to depict the star-crossed lovers to the classical music in a brand new way. Its global premiere was presented in 2014 Suzhou Jinji Lake Arts Festival.