Hai'an in Nantong will focus on the growth of its economy, its urban-rural development, environment protection and improving its people's lives in the next five years. [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

Over the next five years, Hai'an – a county-level city administered by Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province – will increase its efforts to maintain steady economic growth, ensure that urban and rural areas develop in a coordinated way, improve the environment and aim to create a better life for its people.

Regional GDP is projected to increase by 7.5 percent annually on average during the period, while the general public budget revenue is expected to have an average annual growth rate of 7.6 percent. Research and development expenditure is targeted at accounting for 3.1 percent of GDP, while the average annual growth of per capita disposable income of residents is expected to reach 7.5 percent.

Hai'an is aiming to develop itself into a modern medium-sized city and an innovative commercial base. Meanwhile, the urbanization rate of the city is projected to reach 70 percent during the period and the permanent resident population is projected to increase by 0.5 percent annually on average. Moreover, efforts will be made to strengthen the construction of an integrated traffic hub in the Yangtze River Delta region.

During the next five years, Hai'an will place an emphasis on optimizing its industrial and energy structure, strengthening its ecological restoration and environment protection and improving its capabilities in environment governance.

The city aims to have its energy consumption per 10,000 yuan ($1,571) of GDP at the top in the province. It is also aiming to have the average concentration of PM2.5 drop below 30 micrograms per cubic meter and have the proportion of days with good air quality reach 89 percent.