Nantong and Economic Trends

Nantong is a prefecture-level city located on the north wing of the Yangtze River estuary in the southeastern part of Jiangsu province, adjacent to Taizhou to the west, and bordering on Yancheng to the north. With a population of 8 million and an area of 8,544 square kilometers, it has jurisdiction over 8 county-level divisions, including 3 districts, 3 county-level cities, and 1 county.

Nantong's manufacturing sector has traditionally been focused on cotton spinning and salt production, but now the city is shifting towards more advanced manufacturing such as high-end equipment, new energy and equipment manufacturing, alongside the upgrading of the city’s industries and its increasingly closer economic ties with neighboring cities. The city’s service sector has been growing faster than the manufacturing sector and accounted for over 50% of total fixed-asset investment. Nantong has 14 provincial-level or higher economic development zones, including four national economic and technological development zones, one national high-tech industrial park and nine provincial zones.

In 2021, the GDP reached 1.1 trillion RMB, up 8.9 % compared to the previous year, while the GDP per capita amounted to 142,000 RMB. The total value of Nantong’s international trade reached 340 billion RMB in 2021, with the exports amounting to 226 billion RMB and the total value of imports to 114 billion RMB.

The Chinese City Tier System consists of a system of tiers used by analysts to classify Chinese cities and rank them in a hierarchy. Cities in different tiers reflect differences in consumer behaviour, income level, population size, consumer sophistication, infrastructure, talent pool, and business opportunity.