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Jiangsu strives to build on decades of success

By Song Hongmei (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-11-06 17:38

Jiangsu is now one of China's most affluent regions due to its geography and tradition of commerce, and the country's reform and opening-up policy since the late 1970s.

Located along the east coast of China, Jiangsu covers an area of 102,600 square kilometers, 1.1 percent of the total land mass of the country. The area is home to 76 million people, 5.8 percent of China's population.

However, Jiangsu's gross domestic product (GDP) rose to 2.57 trillion yuan ($376.75 billion) last year, accounting for more than 10 percent of the country's total and ranked third in the country. From 1978 to 2007, Jiangsu's economy has grown 30 times, with an average annual growth rate of 12.6 percent, according to its official statistics.

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And its per capita GDP last year amounted to 33,928 yuan, or $4,462, which is expected to reach $5,000 this year, competing with those in the world's medium developed nations and regions.

Over the past three decades, Jiangsu's per capita net income has grown by 57 times for urban citizens and by 42 times for rural residents.

Last year, its per capita net income for urban residents was 16,378 yuan, up 15 percent year-on-year; that for rural residents was 6,561 yuan, up 13.8 percent. The rural and urban income gap was 2.5 to 1, fairly small compared to other parts of the country.

"The remarkable economic results were not achieved in one move," said Xiao Quan, spokesman for the Jiangsu provincial government on Thursday in Nanjing.

"And the results would never have been achieved without China's reform and opening-up policies," he said.

Over the past 30 years, Jiangsu has taken the lead in economic development. In the 1980s, township enterprises mushroomed in southern Jiangsu, leading to accelerated industrialization and urbanization. After 1990, southern Jiangsu and the Yangtze River Delta regions developed an export-oriented economy.

Jiangsu's foreign trade volume thus rose by 800 times, compared to the figures recorded 30 years ago. By the end of last year, $142.3 billion in foreign capital was invested in the province, nearly one fifth of foreign investment in China. More than 300 world-class multinational companies invested in Jiangsu.

Its total foreign trade reached $349.7 billion last year, including $203.7 billion in exports. This was one sixth of China's total foreign trade and exports last year.

Impacted by the current worldwide financial crisis, Jiangsu's foreign trade and economic development will slow down this year, Xiao told chinadaily.com.cn.

Xiao said to tackle the crisis, the province will strictly adhere to the central government's recent measures including interest rate cuts and export tariff rebate increases to stimulate growth in the foreign trade sector.

Vice-governor of Jiangsu Zhang Weiguo is now visiting Guangzhou to see if Jiangsu enterprises are losing clients at the Canton Fair and to encourage them to stay on through the tough time together with the province, according to Xiao.

To strengthen exports, the province will enhance brand cultivation, increase the proportions of independent-brand products and products with high added value. It will also provide support for enterprises to establish production bases, resource bases and marketing networks in foreign countries, he added.

In addition, Jiangsu has built a 3,640 kilometer express highway. Eight bridges spanning the Yangtze River have been built or are under construction.

Despite the achievements which have been made over the past three decades, Xiao said Jiangsu will continue to expand investment in infrastructure, promote innovation and optimize its industrial structure.

The provincial government will also speed up its efforts in improving residents' income in the coming years. It has set a target of average annual growth in disposable income for urban citizens of 9 percent or more per capita, and more than 8 percent for rural residents per capita.

While maintaining a strong momentum in economic development and raising residents' income, Xiao said Jiangsu will constantly focus on environmental protection, clean up its polluted Taihu Lake, place control on heavy energy-consuming industries and encourage existing enterprises to upgrade to energy-saving equipment to make the province a more suitable living place.