The estimated economic growth rate of the Yangtze River Delta’s trillion-dollar cities for last year is gradually emerging: Suzhou and Changzhou reached about 6%.
On January 12th, with the opening of the third session of the 17th Nanjing People’s Congress and the fourth session of the 17th Suzhou People’s Congress, the number of Yangtze River Delta’s trillion-dollar cities with disclosed GDP growth rates for 2024 has increased to five, including Suzhou and Changzhou, both with a growth rate of around 6%.
There are 26 cities in China with an annual GDP exceeding one trillion yuan, and nine of them are located in the Yangtze River Delta, whose total GDP accounts for nearly one-seventh of the country’s total GDP. Shanghai’s economic aggregate ranks first among all cities in China, and it is expected to reach a GDP of five trillion yuan in 2024. Suzhou and Hangzhou both have a GDP of over two trillion yuan, followed by Nanjing, Ningbo, Wuxi, Hefei, Nantong, and Changzhou.
Changzhou’s GDP growth rate was 5% in the first quarter of last year, 5.6% in the first half, and 5.8% in the first three quarters, indicating a rising trend of economic growth and a strengthening trend of economic recovery. On January 8th, the city’s 17th People’s Congress opened its fourth session. According to the government work report, it is expected that the city’s GDP will increase by about 6% last year, with industrial added value increasing by about 6.8%, and general public budget revenue increasing by 2.6%, with tax accounting for 84.1%, ranking first in Jiangsu Province.
On the same day, Ningbo’s 16th People’s Congress opened its fifth session. Mayor Tang Feifan disclosed in his government work report that it is expected that the city’s GDP will increase by about 5.5% last year, with industrial added value increasing by more than 7.2%, and general public budget revenue increasing by 5.1% on a comparable basis. The cargo throughput of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port reached 1.36 billion tons, and its container throughput exceeded 39 million standard containers, maintaining first and third place globally, respectively.
The fourth session of the 17th Wuxi People’s Congress was held on the 11th, and it is expected that the city’s GDP will reach about 1.62 trillion yuan last year, with a growth rate of about 5.8%. General public budget revenue was 121.01 billion yuan, and indicators such as fixed asset investment and actual utilization of foreign capital grew faster than other cities in southern Jiangsu.
This weekend, the two sessions of multiple district-level cities in the Yangtze River Delta opened. According to the government work report presented by Nanjing Mayor Chen Zhichang, the city’s GDP is expected to have grown by about 4.5% last year. Suzhou is expected to achieve a GDP of 2.67 trillion yuan, with a growth rate of about 6%, ranking among the forefront of trillion-dollar cities in terms of growth rate. Its industrial output value reached 4.69 trillion yuan, with a growth rate of about 9%, and the proportion of high-tech industrial output value has increased to 54%. General public budget revenue reached 245.91 billion yuan, with an increase of 5.9% on a comparable basis.
As the “14th Five-Year Plan” closes in 2025, each trillion-dollar city will strive to promote sustained economic recovery and growth. The expected targets for regional GDP growth are set at over 5.5% for Ningbo, over 5% for Wuxi and Changzhou, and around 5% for Nanjing.
