(CFP file photo)

Jiangsu Province, a major economic powerhouse in the country, achieved GDP of 10.27 trillion yuan ($1.59 trillion) in 2020, a year-on-year growth of 3.7% and 1.4 percentage points higher than the national average, according to the Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of Statistics on January 26.

This marked the first time for the coastal province’s GDP to surpass the 10 trillion yuan after it reached one trillion yuan in 2002. And with the GDP per capita of $18,100 in 2020, Jiangsu is quickly approaching a level equivalent to a moderately developed country.

The steadily rising economic output was also accompanied with progress in integrated development. Amid the achievements, Suzhou's GDP exceeded two trillion yuan, Nanjing made it to the list of top 10 economic cities on the Chinese mainland for the first time, and Nantong became the fourth city in Jiangsu to have a GDP of over one trillion yuan. Now, all 13 cities that have subordinate districts in Jiangsu were on the list of China’s top 100 economic cities.

In the development, Jiangsu has consolidated its competitive strengths. The province is home to the largest manufacturing clusters in the country, which account for about one-seventh of the total output value.

The value-added of industry enterprises above designated size increased by 6.1% in 2020, with the profits up by 10.1%. The export-oriented economy also continued with great momentum. Jiangsu bucked the downward global market to retain the first place in China in terms of using foreign investment, while the foreign trade also hit a record high.

New drivers of development were significantly strengthened in Jiangsu, with the contribution rate of  science and technology at 65%, one percentage point higher than in 2019. The value-added of the province's service sector accounted for 52.5% of GDP, also up one percentage point.