Qidong is a nation-renowned "city of marine economy". With a coastline of 203 kilometers, it has more than 600,000 mu (400 square kilometers) of tidal flats. Lvsi Fishing Ground is one of the four largest in China; and the total fish volume of Lvsi Fishing Port, which is one of China's six largest fishing ports, accounts for a third part of Jiangsu province's total fish harvest each year.

Aggregate economic volume has achieved a stable growth. According to preliminary calculations, its regional GDP in 2018 reached up to 106.33 billion yuan ($15.06 billion), 7.4 percent higher than that of the previous year in comparable terms. Taking the three industries separately, the added value of the primary industry was 7.20 billion yuan, an increase of 2.5 percent; the added value of the secondary industry was 50.53 billion yuan, a growth of 7.6 percent and the added value of the tertiary industry was 48.60 billion yuan, an increase of 7.8 percent. The ratio of the three-industry structures adjusted from 7.0:48.0:45.0 in 2017 to 6.8:47.5:45.7 in 2018. The per capita regional GDP was 111,824 yuan and 95,520 yuan respectively calculated in terms of permanent residents and registered permanent residents.

Tian Kun Hao [Photo/qidongnews.com]

Qidong ranked 21st on the list of China's comprehensively- competent cities (counties) in 2018. Employment has been effectively advanced in rural and urban areas of Qidong. The employment and entrepreneurship policies have been implemented in an effective manner, promoting the state-level pilot project of "supporting migrant workers and other persons who return or go to the countryside for entrepreneurship". About 8,100 non-seasonal urban jobs have been created. Qidong has helped 4,619 unemployed and laid-off urban workers to be reemployed and achieved a registered urban jobless rate of 2 percent. More than 4,100 people who moved from rural to urban areas to find work have been employed. Moreover, the atmosphere of mass entrepreneurship has been gradually warming up. Qidong has insisted on promoting employment together with supporting entrepreneurship. By the end of 2018, it had registered 20,085 enterprises, including 172 state-owned and collective controlled enterprises, 513 foreign-investment enterprises and 19,400 private enterprises. There were 2,889 newly registered enterprises and 8,147 new individual businesses.

International economic and trade fair in Qidong [Photo/qidongnews.com]

Consumer prices have moderately increased. The consumer price index (CPI) was 2 percent higher than that of the previous year. The CPI in December achieved a month-on-month growth of 1.8 percent. The prices of consumer goods and services in eight categories have been in the condition of "seven-growth and one-decrease". The prices of clothing, housing, groceries and services, transportation and communications, education, culture and entertainment, medical care and other items and services have respectively risen by 1.9 percent, 3.4 percent, 3.7 percent, 1.0 percent, 1.2 percent, 1.8 percent and 1.8 percent; while the prices of food, cigarettes and wine have decreased by 1.3 percent.