A press conference was recently held in Tongzhou district, Nantong, highlighting the district's remarkable progress in modernization during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).

Tongzhou's gross regional product (GRP) averaged a 5.8 percent growth in the first four years of the period. By 2024, its GRP had increased by 6.5 percent to 178.79 billion yuan ($25.49 billion), leading Nantong in both total value and growth rate. Per capita GRP reached 141,198 yuan, up 26,267 yuan from the end of the previous Five-Year Plan period.

General public budget revenue stood at 7.7 billion yuan, total retail sales of consumer goods exceeded 43 billion yuan, and foreign trade surpassed 39 billion yuan. Per capita disposable income for urban and rural residents averaged 6.4 percent annual growth over four years, reaching 55,233 yuan.

Tongzhou now hosts 994 industrial and 158 service enterprises above the designated size. Their industrial output value is projected to exceed 165 billion yuan in 2025, with added value growth leading the city for three straight years.

From 2021 to 2025, Tongzhou added 183 specialized and sophisticated enterprises at the provincial-level or above, including 27 national-level "little giant" firms and two manufacturing champions.

The district has established four modern service clusters with revenues over 1 billion yuan. Among them, the science and technology servuce cluster in the Nantong National High-tech Industrial Development Zone generated over 1.65 billion yuan. In 2024, the service sector's added value of Tongzhou reached 81.33 billion yuan.

During this period, Tongzhou introduced 235 major industrial projects, each valued at 500 million yuan or more or $30 million and above, started construction on 113 such projects, and completed 62.

Leading projects like Kanghui and Amphenol have commenced production, while scientific and technological innovation platforms, including the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Nantong Advanced Technology Research Institute and the Huawei Nantong Digital Economy Collaborative Innovation Base, have been established, driving high-quality development across the district.

The cityscape of Tongzhou district, Nantong. [Photo/IC]