An aerial view of Suzhou Industrial Park (CFP Photo)

Jiangsu’s gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter of the year reached 3.1 trillion yuan, marking a year-on-year growth of 6.2%, as announced by the provincial Department of Statistics on May 7.

Among the province’s 13 cities with subordinate districts, eight cities, namely Wuxi, Xuzhou, Suzhou, Nantong, Huaian, Zhenjiang, Taizhou and Suqian, had GDP growth rates higher than the average.

Suzhou led the province with a GDP expansion of 7.9% during the period. It’s also the only city to boast a GDP exceeding 550 billion yuan, followed by Nanjing and Wuxi.

Suzhou’s distinctive achievements were primarily due to the steady recovery of economy and improved market expectations. The strong Q1 growth was also because of the relatively low base in the same period last year.

Specifically, Suzhou achieved a good start in its industrial production, led by key industries. On the one hand, the total added value of industrial enterprises above the designated size registered a year-on-year growth of 6.8%, maintaining this growth trend for six consecutive months. On the other hand, the city’s foreign trade volume increased by 9.6% year-on-year.