The number of “hundred-billion-yuan counties” has increased to 59, and China’s economic “foundation” has become more solid
2024-08-22
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Recently, a set of data released in the "Research on High-Quality Development of China's County Economy in 2024" attracted attention. From 2013 to 2023, the number of "100 billion yuan counties" with an annual GDP of more than 100 billion yuan increased from 9 to 59, an increase of 50 in 10 years.
Analyzing the list of “100 billion county”, we can find that:
——Economic strength has become stronger. Last year, the 59 "100 billion county" counties, with 1.2% of the country's total land area and 4.5% of the permanent population, contributed 7.6% of the country's GDP, more than 10% of the output value of industrial enterprises above designated size, and about 10% of specialized, refined and innovative "little giant" enterprises.
——The geographical distribution is wider. Among the 59 "100 billion county", 44 are in the east, 8 in the middle, 6 in the west, and 1 in the northeast. This is a big change compared with the past when "100 billion county" was basically concentrated in the eastern coastal areas. 100 billion county in the central and western regions has emerged faster, and the role of county economy in the province is more important. This is also the result of the in-depth implementation of regional coordinated development strategy and major regional strategies since the new era.
——The industrial structure has been improved. Industrial transformation and upgrading are the key support for the rise of "hundred-billion-yuan counties". Many "hundred-billion-yuan counties" have worked hard to extend the industrial chain, increase added value, and expand the advantages of traditional industries. At the same time, with electronic information and advanced manufacturing high-end industries as the core, they have accelerated the cultivation and expansion of emerging industries, opened up new tracks, tapped new advantages, and continuously enhanced their innovation capabilities.
When counties are well governed, the country is at peace. my country has more than 2,800 county-level administrative regions, accounting for nearly 40% of the country's total economic output. The high-quality development of county economies, represented by "hundred-billion-yuan counties", is a vivid reflection of the remarkable achievements made in China's new urbanization, urban-rural integration and rural revitalization, and an important manifestation of China's economic vitality and resilience.
The county economy plays an important role in linking the economic cycle and is the foundation for China's economic growth with the greatest potential. Since the new era, the county economy has flourished, and the foundation for China's economic growth has become increasingly solid.
Look at economic vitality. In 2022, the total economic output of China's counties will reach 46.7 trillion yuan. In 2023, Kunshan, Jiangsu, will have a GDP of more than 500 billion yuan and a developed electronic information industry; Yiwu, Zhejiang, known as the "world supermarket", has a per capita disposable income of nearly 84,000 yuan; Luyi, Henan, has a cosmetics industry that occupies half of the country. With the rapid development of county economies, the trend of migrant workers flowing to counties for employment and entrepreneurship has become increasingly obvious. From 2012 to the end of 2022, the number of people returning to their hometowns to start businesses has reached 12.2 million, driving more than 34 million rural employment.
Look at the pulse of consumption. In the first half of this year, the per capita consumption expenditure of rural residents in China was 9,197 yuan, an actual increase of 7.4%, 1.4 percentage points higher than that of urban residents. From July to August this year, the number of cultural and tourism bookings in counties across the country increased by more than 22 times month-on-month, and the county tourism market is full of vitality. According to a report from an e-commerce platform, the consumption scale of China's county market has exceeded that of first-tier cities. County consumption is a blue ocean with great potential and an important growth point for boosting domestic demand.
The Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee emphasized the need to "perfect the system and mechanism for integrated urban-rural development". Recently, the State Council announced the Five-Year Action Plan for Deeply Implementing the People-oriented New Urbanization Strategy, which proposed that after five years of efforts, the urbanization rate of the permanent population will be increased to nearly 70%; the integrated urban-rural development will be promoted with the county as the basic unit, and the urban infrastructure and public services will be extended to the countryside, so as to promote the connection and complementarity of county and rural functions.
The county is an important entry point for the integrated development of urban and rural areas. Data shows that the permanent population of county towns and county-level cities has increased by more than 30% in the past ten years. County towns have become an important carrier for the urbanization of agricultural migrant population.
New urbanization has effectively promoted stable economic growth, steadily improved quality, and continuously improved people's livelihood. The county is a combination of more than 40,000 towns and more than 660,000 villages, carrying the good life of hundreds of millions of people. It is estimated that if the urbanization rate increases by 1 percentage point, more than 200 billion yuan of consumer demand can be added each year, driving a trillion yuan of new investment demand. Vigorously promoting the construction of new urbanization with county towns as an important carrier, steadily improving the quality and level of urbanization, can continuously promote the effective improvement of the quality of the economy and the reasonable growth of quantity.
Mr. Jin Lei, a farmer from Shili Village, Mengcheng County, Anhui Province, settled down in the county town with his son. He is very satisfied with his current life. "I have moved to the county town for more than three years. My son and daughter-in-law work in the county town. My grandchildren go to kindergarten near my home. I can see a doctor at the community clinic. After training, I became a community security guard. I live a very stable life."
The story of Jin Lei's family is a microcosm of countless farmers' integration into urban life. In the past decade, a total of 165 million migrant workers have settled in cities and towns. By the end of 2023, the urbanization rate of China's permanent population was 66.16%, an increase of 13.06 percentage points from the end of 2012, and the coverage of basic urban public services has been significantly expanded.
Counties are not only hometowns that carry nostalgic memories, but also vast lands with huge development potential. With the in-depth implementation of the new urbanization and urban-rural integrated development strategies, more and more "hundred-billion-yuan counties" will emerge, providing strong impetus and solid support for China's modernization and bringing a better life to hundreds of millions of farmers.
