After its output value of industries above the designated size and total import and export volume exceeded 1 trillion yuan and 100 billion US dollars respectively, Suzhou’s Kunshan has become the first county-level city in China whose GDP has exceeded 500 billion yuan. According to the data released by the Kunshan Bureau of Statistics, this county-level city achieved a regional GDP of 500.67 billion yuan in 2022, with a year-on-year growth of 1.8% calculated at constant prices.
In 2022, despite the multiple pressures of decreased investment, declining export demand, and shrinking revenues, Kunshan managed to achieve its annual target two months ahead of schedule. There were 57,000 newly registered market entities and 6 newly listed enterprises, making the total number reaching 46. The city’s industrial investment reached 25 billion yuan, hitting a five-year high and increasing by 8.4% year on year.
While striving to stabilize economic growth, Kunshan has made stepped-up efforts to promote the innovation-driven development and accelerate the industrial transformation and upgrading. In 2022, it was rated as one of China’s top 100 counties (cities) for industrial development and for scientific and technological innovation as well. The city launched a full-life cycle service platform for major projects, issued 23 policies to support the construction of industrial innovation clusters, completed the task of intelligent transformation of all industrial enterprises above designated size one year ahead of schedule, and ranked first on the list of China’s Top 10 counties for the development of industrial internet for two consecutive years. In addition, it promoted more balanced development of industries, with the output value of strategic emerging industries exceeding 600 billion yuan, accounting for 55.5% of the total output value of its industries above the designated size. Kunshan’s spending on research and development (R&D) accounted for 3.83% of its GDP and there were 436 enterprises recognized as national high-tech enterprises, making the total number exceeding 2,700.