Reimagining Growth: High-quality development of China's county economy

The economic development of counties plays an important role as a basic unit in the growth of national economy. Studying county economic development is essential for understanding the overall health and progress of the national economy.

China's 'Top 100 Counties for Investment Competitiveness of 2024' has been published, with Jiangsu Province securing five and Zhejiang Province claiming two positions among top 10 provinces, according to a report released by the market research firm CCID Consulting.  

The CCID Consulting's data also shows that China added five new counties with GDP exceeding 100 billion yuan ($13.77 billion) in 2023, bringing the total to 59. Back in 2013, only nine counties and county-level cities had reached this milestone. These 59 counties collectively reached a total GDP of 9.6 trillion yuan, contributing 7.6 percent to the national GDP. These counties are also vital in driving county-level economic growth, with their major enterprises generating over 13 trillion yuan in industrial output, accounting for over 10 percent of China's total.

Exemplified by the '100-billion GDP county club,' this rapid progress in the county economy has denoted the vitality of China's whole economy. Leading the list are Kunshan, Jiangyin and Zhangjiagang – all from Jiangsu Province – as the top three county-level economies with the highest GDP in 2023, followed by Jinjiang from East China's Fujian Province and Changshu from Jiangsu Province. In 2023, Kunshan's GDP exceeded 500 billion yuan, with Jiangyin close behind with a GDP of 496.05 billion yuan.