Economic data has just been released as to the performance of the economy in all 13 cities of our very own Jiangsu Province for the three quarters of the year until September, 2023. But the top performers have come as quite a surprise.
Of all the cities in Jiangsu, it would theoretically be a safe bet that the Province’s economic juggernaut of Suzhou would be turning in the strongest economic numbers in terms of growth in GDP. But it’s not.
Then there is our capital of Nanjing, which as such again should have some finances with which to impress us. But it doesn’t.
In actual fact, it is the northeastern coastal City of Lianyungang that has produced the biggest GDP gains in the Province for the first 9 months of the year, at some 11.9 percent, more or less double the national average.
Then there is the interesting case of the city in the runner up position; another northerner that can be thought of as being bottom of the food chain in Jiangsu. That would be Suqian, where vehicles carry plates prefixed with “苏N”, meaning the city ranks last in the Province from an administrative standpoint.
But Suqian has seen remarkable development in recent years, a point proved by the latest figures, in which Suqian has produced a GDP growth of 7.7 percent.
Suqian’s GDP for 23Q1-3 totalled ¥298 billion, while that of Lianyungang for the same period was a little over ¥301 billion, as The Paper reports.
Small change to some, perhaps, when compared with the big hitters south of the Yangtze, where the current GDPs of Nanjing, Wuxi and Suzhou all exceed ¥1 trillion. Their respective growth rates in the first 3 quarters of this year were 4.5, 5.8 and 4.2 percent, for total GDPs of ¥1.27 trillion, ¥1.1 trillion and ¥1.77 trillion.
Then there is the case of Changzhou, also south of the river, which, with a bit more effort, may join that ¥1 trillion club by year end. The City produced a GDP for 23Q1-3 of ¥700.6 billion, an increase of 6.7 percent, making it the south’s top performer.
Lastly, and most notable among the remaining cities, is Xuzhou. More or less the economic powerhouse of the north, Xuzhou’s vehicle plates are prefixed “苏C”, meaning the city has much historical significance. Its GDP of ¥659.3 billion in the first three quarters, an increase of 7.0 percent, shows us that the north of Jiangsu is now once again emerging as a financial force with which to be reckoned.
