The Zhongjun County Economic Research Institute recently unveiled the 2025 list of counties excelling in integrated development. Zhangjiagang secured the second spot nationwide.
The concept of "integrated county strength and prosperity" is built on two core elements: a "strong county and prosperous people" and "integrated development".
Strong county and prosperous people means both the county's overall strength and residents' wealth are at high levels — in other words, economic strength and prosperity coexist.
Integrated development emphasizes balanced coordination between county growth and residents' well-being, excluding cases where there is a significant mismatch between the two.
Counties that are both strong and prosperous and demonstrate good coordination qualify as "integrated development counties". Among them, those with highly coordinated growth serve as national benchmarks and models for integrated development.
Founded in 1998, the Zhongjun County Economic Research Institute is a leading think tank and social organization specializing in county-level economic research. It is widely recognized as "China's No.1 institute for the county-level economy".
Zhangjiagang. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]