The gross domestic product (GDP) of Jiangsu Province in 2021 surged by 8.6% year on year, or 1.36 trillion yuan from a year earlier, the first time for the expansion to exceed the threshold of one trillion yuan, according to the Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of Statistics on January 19.

Jiangsu's economy recovered steadily after the COVID-19 disruptions and made new progress in moving towards the quality growth as major economic indicators were better than expected. 

In 2021, the province's total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 15.1% year on year and reached close to the pre-pandemic level. Foreign trade grew by 17.1% while the net exports volume climbed to 1.2394 trillion yuan from 1.0363 trillion yuan in 2020. The manufacturing sector saw its added industrial value rise by 11.7% year on year, accounting for 35.8% of the total GDP, and investment also expanded by 16.1%.  

Jiangsu went all out to promote digital empowerment as a way to inject new momentum into the economic development. Last year, the output value of strategic new industries and high-tech industries accounted for 39.8% and 47.5% of the total respectively. 

Jiang Zhaoyi, an expert from the Jiangsu Academy of Social Sciences, said the data showed the coastal province’s solid foundation for an advanced manufacturing that is also internationally competitive. 

Meanwhile, government revenue, corporate profits and the per capita disposable income of residents also achieved clear growths.  

The province’s general public budget revenue reached more than 1.0015 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.6% over the previous year. As the government made every effort to help enterprises cope with impacts of the pandemic, nearly 80% of industrial sectors recorded positive profit growth.  

The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents hit 57,743 yuan and 26,791 yuan, up 8.7% and 10.7% year-on-year respectively. 

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