Urban Zhangjiagang, a county-level city in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province. [Photo/WeChat account: zhangjiagangfabu365]
In the recently-released "2023 Top 100 Chinese Counties in Terms of Comprehensive Strength" list, Zhangjiagang in Suzhou, Jiangsu province secured the third position.
The comprehensive development index evaluates counties based on economic development, innovation, ecological environment, people's well-being, and urban-rural governance.
Zhangjiagang has been making significant strides in the development of its real economy. A total of 36.9 billion yuan ($5.17 billion) is expected to be invested in 225 major projects in the city this year, with 87 percent of that target already spent in the first three quarters.
The city also aims to increase the total revenue of four key industries – new energy, intelligent high-end equipment, semiconductors, and advanced materials – to more than 700 billion yuan by 2025.
Zhangjiagang is actively promoting technological innovation, attracting over 1,200 science and technology projects in 2022 and established over 2 million square meters of incubators in 2022. The county-level city plans to expand the area of incubators to over 4 million square meters by 2025 and attract 5,000 technology projects within the next three years.
Rural Zhangjiagang. [Photo/WeChat account: zhangjiagangfabu365]
Zhangjiagang is also advancing rural vitalization efforts, with an average disposable income per village reaching 16.87 million yuan. The number is expected to surpass 20 million yuan by 2025.
The city has been steadfast in its commitment to environmental conservation. In 2022, 82.5 percent of days had good air quality. The urban green coverage exceeded 43 percent, and surface water quality ranked second among all counties in Jiangsu.