An aerial view of Rugao, a county-level city of Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province. [Photo/WeChat accouont: rugaofabu]

The list of the top 100 counties for high-quality development in China in 2023 was released recently. Rugao ranked 27th on the list.

The report used an index system for the high-quality development of counties and the database of county development to comprehensively, systematically and scientifically evaluate the development situation of counties in China, thereby forming the list of the top 100 counties for high-quality development in China.

The top 100 counties are pioneers for advancing Chinese-style modernization, showing strong development resilience and vitality.

Rugao's gross domestic product surpassed 147.93 billion yuan ($21.3 billion) in 2022, up 2.3 percent year-on-year. The revenue of the city's industrial enterprises above designated size totaled 152.24 billion yuan, up 7.1 percent. Imports and exports were valued at 37.71 billion yuan in 2022, a growth of 16.3 percent over the previous year.