Hai'an is a county-level city in Nantong, Jiangsu province. [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

The 2025 County-Level Economic Innovation and Development Forum was held in Beijing on July 23, where the 2025 China County-Level High-Quality Economic Development Research report was released. Hai'an ranked 23rd nationwide, moving up five places from its 28th position in 2024.

The ranking continues to adopt a dual threshold model, requiring counties to have both a GDP of at least 60 billion yuan ($8.38 billion) and general public budget revenue of at least 2 billion yuan.

A comprehensive evaluation of county-level economies across China was conducted using 35 indicators across five key dimensions: economic strength, growth potential, intelligent manufacturing capacity, urban vitality, and overall prosperity.

In 2024, Hai'an's regional GDP reached 150.7 billion yuan, a 6 percent year-on-year increase. The county ranked 14th nationwide in industrial R&D competitiveness and 7th in investment potential, reflecting its strong momentum in high-quality development.