Zhangjiagang. [Photo/VCG]
The Zhongjun County Economic Research Institute, a leading national research organization specializing in county-level economy, recently released the list of the Top 100 Counties in China for Basic Economic Competitiveness (25th edition). Zhangjiagang, a county-level city of Suzhou, Jiangsu province, ranked second nationwide, reflecting its strong economy and overall development strength.
For the 25th evaluation, Zhongjun assessed counties across the country using publicly available data such as government work reports and statistical bulletins. The ranking is based on indicators including economic scale, per capita performance, quality, growth speed, and economic vitality.
Founded in 1998, the Zhongjun County Economic Research Institute has been conducting nationwide county-level economic studies since 2001. It pioneered and popularized a series of now widely recognized terms such as "basic economic competitiveness of counties", "top 100 counties", "building a happy county", and "county economy and comprehensive county development".