Nantong ranks 18th in GDP nationwide

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

The top 30 cities by GDP for the first half of 2025 have been announced. Nantong in Jiangsu province has climbed from 23rd to 18th place, emerging as a rising highlight.

What makes Nantong stand out?

Industry remains the main driving force. Between January and June, Nantong's value-added in industries above a designated size grew by 7.8 percent. Specifically, equipment manufacturing industries experienced a 13.5 percent increase, with notable double-digit growth in electrical machinery, railway and shipbuilding, and computer communication manufacturing. The value-added in private industries above a designated size grew by 7.9 percent.

The city's development of new-quality productive forces, showing a trend of accelerated cultivation and expansion, was evident. Value-added in high-tech manufacturing industries above a designated size increased by 13.2 percent, while the contribution of nationally recognized "small giant" enterprises increased by 9.5 percent.

In the first six months of this year, Suzhou, often called the "strongest prefecture-level city in the country", maintained its sixth position with a GDP of 1.30 trillion yuan ($181.14 billion). Its thriving advanced manufacturing sector is the key growth driver, with high-tech industry output reaching 1.32 trillion yuan, a 6.6 percent increase year-on-year. Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu, ranks 10th with an economic output of 917.92 billion yuan.

Considering the national outlook, the total economic output of these 30 cities amounted to 28.61 trillion yuan, representing 43.3 percent of the country's total in the first half of 2025, making them key drivers of China's economic growth.