Reflecting its strong performance, Hai'an ranks 29th among China's top 100 counties in terms of economic development. [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

The county-level city of Hai'an ranked 29th among the top 100 counties and county-level cities for economic development in China, according to a report released on Aug 4 by the urban economic research center of CCID Consulting – a firm affiliated with a think tank under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

Hai'an is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Nantong, in East China's Jiangsu province.

This year, the list was made based on a new assessment system centering on high-quality development and composed of four key dimensions – economic strength, growth potential, the level of affluence and green development.

In 2020, Hai'an achieved 122.16 billion yuan ($18.86 billion), 53.69 billion yuan and 35.6 billion yuan, respectively, in regional GDP, fixed-asset investment and total retail sales of consumer goods. The average growth rates of the three indicators in the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20) were 7.7 percent, 10.5 percent and 7.2 percent, respectively – higher than that of Nantong and Jiangsu.

By the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the annual per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents in the city reached 50,044 yuan and 25,176 yuan – up 45.3 percent and 52.1 percent, respectively, over the end of the 12th Fiver-Year Plan period (2011-15).

It has been reported that with the launch of the Hai'an-ASEAN freight train service and the Shanghai-Suzhou-Nantong freight express last year, Hai'an continues to upgrade into a significant regional traffic hub.