Chinanews.com, February 2 (Zuo Yukun, reporter from Zhongxin Finance and Economics) What kind of experience is it that the economic volume of a county-level city can rank among the "big cities" and even exceed that of a western province?

　　Recently, Kunshan, the "best county-level city", has delivered another good news, becoming the first county-level city in the country with a GDP exceeding 500 billion yuan.

Where are the Kunshan cattle?

Against the background of the rapid development of county-level economy, are there any other county-level cities that can compete with Kunshan?

In Kunshan, Jiangsu, a red moon rises over the Huiju Temple, forming a contrast with the temple tower.

Image source: ICphoto

How high is the "ceiling" of county economy?

　　Recently, various parts of the country have successively released economic report cards for 2022.

In addition to the fierce competition between provinces and cities, the performance of a county-level city is also quite impressive.

　　According to the Kunshan Municipal Bureau of Statistics, in 2022, Kunshan's annual GDP will be 500.67 billion yuan, an increase of 1.8% over the previous year at constant prices.

The country's first county-level city with a GDP exceeding 500 billion yuan was born.

　　Combined with the published GDP data of 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in 2022, Qinghai's GDP is 361.01 billion yuan, Tibet's GDP is 213.26 billion yuan, Kunshan has surpassed both and is very close to Ningxia with a GDP of 506.96 billion yuan.

　　In addition to being comparable to the provinces, according to the "2020 China Census Sub-county Information" compiled by the Office of the Seventh National Census Leading Group of the State Council, Kunshan, Jiangsu has already been ranked among the 105 major cities in the country.

　　Since Kunshan became the top 100 counties in the country for the first time in 2005, it has held this position for 18 years, and its development has accelerated in recent years.

The data shows that Kunshan surpassed the new level of 300 billion yuan and 400 billion yuan in 2014 and 2019 respectively. It took 5 years to go from 300 billion yuan to 400 billion yuan, but it took only 3 years to go from 400 billion yuan to 500 billion yuan.

　　In Kunshan's 2023 government work report, the regional GDP growth target for the new year is set at around 5%.

At the "First Meeting of the New Year" on January 29, Kunshan proposed to speed up the resumption of work and production, and go all out to help enterprises maintain employment, compete for orders, expand markets, and stabilize growth. ".

Why did the "little six sons" counterattack and dominate the list for 18 years?

　　"If you don't go to the garden, how will you know what spring looks like?" Kunshan, the birthplace of Kunqu Opera, the "ancestor of a hundred operas", is just like the traditional Kunqu opera "Peony Pavilion", a beautiful and beautiful water town in the south of the Yangtze River.

　　Kunshan, with a total area of ​​less than 1,000 square kilometers and a permanent population of more than 2 million, used to be inconspicuous in this fertile land in the south of the Yangtze River due to its weak industrial foundation.

It was also because it ranked the bottom of the six counties under the jurisdiction of Suzhou at that time, so it was called the "little six sons".

　　The story of the counterattack of the "little six sons" must start from the reform and opening up.

Since 1984, Kunshan has seized the opportunity and hastened to catch up. Relying on the Kunshan road of "hard work, innovation, and striving for excellence", it has realized the transformation and rise of agriculture to industry and internal to external.

　　Relying on the "strongest prefecture-level city" Suzhou and bordering Shanghai, the national economic center city, when talking about the development of Kunshan, the first thing that cannot be avoided is its unique geographical advantage of "connecting Shanghai and Jiangsu", which is considered to be the breakthrough of Kunshan base.

　　"Shuangcheng commuter" Lin Tao (pseudonym) works in Shanghai and lives in Huaqiao, Kunshan. This is the best living choice for a large number of people who cannot settle or buy a house in Shanghai.

　　"I take Line 11 to commute for more than 3 hours every day. The subway carries a large number of commuters like me commuting to and from the center of Shanghai and Huaqiao. There are also colleagues who live in Kunshan who drive back and forth, with a high speed of more than 120 kilometers every day." In Lin Tao It seems that Kunshan has supported the balance between the dreams and reality of many young people.

　　According to Suzhou Rail Transit Group Co., Ltd., Suzhou Rail Transit Line 11 is expected to be put into operation in June. At that time, it will seamlessly "hand in hand" with Shanghai Metro Line 11 at Huaqiao Station.

This will further promote Kunshan's integration into the Shanghai metropolitan area.

Aerial photography of Huaxi Park in Huaqiao, Kunshan, Suzhou.

Photo by Yang Bo

　　At the same time, Kunshan is also one of the regions with the most active investment by Taiwanese businessmen in the mainland, the densest concentration of Taiwanese-funded enterprises, and the most frequent cross-strait economic, trade and cultural exchanges.

According to statistics, there are more than 3,300 Taiwan-funded enterprises actually operating in Kunshan. 30% of Kunshan's regional GDP, 40% of industrial output value, 50% of foreign capital utilization, and 60% of total import and export come from Taiwan-funded enterprises.

　　Just as Kunqu opera germinates new sprouts in the fusion with other opera forms, the road of economic development in Kunshan is also inseparable from the temperament of tolerance.

In addition to the integration of Kunshan and Taiwan, Kunshan is also accelerating the deep coupling development of the innovation chain industry chain.

　　"The advantage of the industrial chain is Kunshan's biggest confidence in attracting foreign investment. The reason why Kunshan can maintain the market share of "one-third of the world" in the global notebook computer is that it has always insisted on "what is lacking and recruiting" and created a complete industrial chain. Zhou Wei, secretary of the Kunshan Municipal Party Committee, once said that Kunshan is actively building a new smart terminal industry chain, focusing on leading enterprises, giving resources, ensuring elements, and creating all favorable conditions for enterprises to settle in Kunshan.

County power that cannot be ignored

　　When it comes to the leader of the county economy, another must mention is Jiangyin, which belongs to Jiangsu Province and competes with Kunshan for hegemony.

　　Jiangyin, which is managed by Wuxi, has not announced its 2022 GDP so far.

Judging from the data for 2021, Jiangyin's GDP for that year reached 458.033 billion yuan, ranking second behind Kunshan, which has a GDP of 474.806 billion yuan in 2021, with a gap of 16.7 billion yuan.

　　Jiangyin is adjacent to the Yangtze River in the north and Taihu Lake in the south. It is located in the geometric center of the "Golden Triangle" of Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou.

　　Ranking third among the top ten GDP counties in 2021 is also Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu Province.

In addition, Changshu City, Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, and Yixing City, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province also ranked among the top ten.

　　These strong counties that already have the size of prefecture-level cities have also greatly stimulated Jiangsu's economic development.

In 2022, Jiangsu Province's GDP will reach a new level of 12 trillion yuan for the first time, surpassing four trillion yuan in five years, closely following Guangdong.

　　The important role of county economy in regional development is self-evident.

From coastal provinces such as Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Fujian where strong counties gather, continuing to make efforts, to inland provinces such as Hubei, Henan, and Sichuan catching up, more "super strong counties" continue to emerge on the road to urbanization.

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