A bird's-eye view of Nantong. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

The GDP of Nantong in eastern China's Jiangsu province expanded by 5.5 percent from last year in the first nine months of this year to 900.62 billion yuan ($123.71 billion), the Nantong municipal bureau of statistics said on Oct 27.

The added value of its first, second, and tertiary industries was 31.76 billion yuan, 446.13 billion yuan, and 422.74 billion yuan respectively in the first three quarters of 2023, up 2.8 percent, 6.8 percent, and 4.2 percent year-on-year.

The added value of private businesses in the city grew by 10.2 percent year-on-year while that of its competitive industries – new materials, high-end textiles, and shipbuilding – surged by 16.1 percent, 16.1 percent, and 15.7 percent respectively.

From January to September, fixed-asset investment in the city expanded by 0.3 percent compared with a year earlier. Its investment in tertiary industry and infrastructure saw year-on-year increases of 4.2 percent and 1.5 percent.

Nantong also saw an orderly recovery in consumer markets in the first three quarters of this year. Retail sales in the city rose by 6.8 percent compared to the same period last year to 312.53 billion yuan. Catering businesses generated 7.01 billion yuan during the period, up 10.3 percent from last year.

The per capita disposable income of the residents in the city totaled 39,463 yuan, up 5.5 percent year-on-year. The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents amounted to 47,942 yuan and 24,724 yuan, respectively, marking year-on-year increases of 4.9 percent and 6.7 percent.