A bird's-eye view of Zhangjiagang. [Photo/WeChat account: zhangjiagangfabu365]
The third session of the 15th Zhangjiagang Municipal People's Congress opened on Jan 8, with mayor Cai Jianfeng delivering an annual government work report.
The report noted that Zhangjiagang experienced a stable and robust economic growth in the past year. Zhangjiagang-based steelmaker Shagang Group secured a position in the Fortune Global 500 list for the 15th consecutive year. Three local enterprises made the top 500 Chinese companies list, and nine claimed spots in the top 500 Chinese private enterprises ranking. The city also witnessed the addition of four publicly-listed companies.
Furthermore, Zhangjiagang successfully attracted two projects each with an investment exceeding 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) and two others worth over 5 billion yuan.
The report also highlighted a remarkable 68.5 percent allocation of industrial investment to technological upgrading. To further boost innovation, Zhangjiagang built over 620,000 square meters of new office space intended for hi-tech startups.
The city's total import and export volume reached $40.5 billion, revealing a higher level of openness.
Rural areas experienced rapid development, with 1,400 hectares of high-standard farmland built and the average collective income across all villages reaching 17.08 million yuan.
Zhangjiagang also demonstrated its commitment to environmental sustainability, seeing 82.5 percent of days with good air quality in 2023. The city also expanded its protected wetland areas by 2,600 hectares.
In 2024, Zhangjiagang government will focus on eight key aspects, including stimulating demand, advancing industrialization, expanding opening-up, rural vitalization, and green development.