Yang Zhongjian, acting mayor of Qidong, delivers a report on the municipal government's work in 2020 at the Qidong Poly Theater, on Jan 13. [Photo/WeChat account: qdrmt0513]

The fifth session of the 17th Qidong Municipal People's Congress opened on Jan 13 in the Qidong Poly Theater – in the county-level city under the administration of Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province.

The session was chaired by Gu Yunfeng, executive chairman of the congress, with acting Qidong mayor Yang Zhongjian delivering a report on the municipal government's performance during the past year.

The report consisted of three sections – a review on the performance in 2020 and main achievements of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), the main tasks and goals for the 14th Fiver-Year Plan (2021-25), as well as the main targets for 2021.

Preliminary estimates project that the annual regional GDP of Qidong in 2020 hit 123 billion yuan ($19 billion), with the general public budget revenue reaching 7.2 billion yuan.

Fixed-asset investment in 2020 rose an estimated 8 percent, with foreign direct investment of $340 million and the total value of imports and exports at 21 billion yuan.

During the period the total retail sales of consumer goods reached an estimated 42 billion yuan, up 2.3 percent, ranking first in Nantong in terms of increases. Per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents was 49,980 yuan and 27,300 yuan, up 4.2 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively.

Acting mayor Yang announced the economic growth targets for the city government in 2021 in the report, setting a regional GDP growth target of 7.5 percent. Investment in research and development (R&D) is projected to account for 2.62 percent of GDP.

Yang predicted retail sales of consumer goods would rise by around 7 percent, foreign trade would increase by at least 5 percent and per capita disposable income of both urban and rural residents would grow faster than the local economy.

There was also good news for the environment, with a promise to focus on cutting emissions and protecting local ecosystems.

Moving forwards, in the next five years, the Qidong municipal government will act to boost the city's economic quality and efficiency. Regional GDP is expected to reach 180 billion yuan, with an annual growth rate of at least 7 percent. The annual general public budget revenue is seen topping 10 billion yuan and the proportion of R&D expenditure to GDP is to climb to 2.65 percent.

Renewed efforts will also be made to improve the quality of life of residents, as well as the city's environment, civic pride and the efficiency of municipal governance.