Recently, Town Economy Research Center of Sichuan Company of China Center for Information Industry Development (Group) released the Report of Top 100 Towns, Top 500 Towns & Top 100 Towns in the Middle Regions and Top 100 Towns in Western Regions of China 2024”, and 17 towns of Jiaxing made the list.

Those towns are Zhapu (69th), Chang’an (94th), Xucun (130th), Daqiao (135th), Yaozhuang (154th), Yuxin (156th), Dushangang (161st), Zhouquan (168th), Puyuan (170th), Chongfu (241st), Wuzhen (248th), Wangdian (258th), Wangjiangjin (280th), Yuanhua (322nd), Xitang (324th), Xindai (439th), Xincang(478th).

Town economy has become an indispensable force to promote integrated urban-rural development and build new competitive advantages in regional economic development. The Report makes a research and evaluation of more than 20,000 towns across the country except those of the municipalities directly under the central government and those of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. The evaluation index system of economic high-quality development of a county consists of four primary indicators: economic strength, industrial capacity, consumption vitality and urban-rural synergy. Under the primary indicators, there are 17 secondary indicators, an increase of four over the previous year. The evaluation takes into account the supporting indicators such as the number of listed companies, colleges, universities, innovation and entrepreneurship platforms at the provincial level and above, and honorary titles that reflect the economic and social development of a town.

As of December 31, 2023, there were 42 towns, 30 sub-districts and 1,205 urban and rural communities in Jiaxing. In comparison with the list 2023, the towns in the list totaled 17, the same with 2023, but there are some subtle changes in their rankings. In 2023, Zhapu, Daqiao and Chang’an ranked first, second and third respectively in Jiaxing, while in 2024, the top three are Zhapu, Chang’an and Xucun. In 2023, there were 10 town of Jiaxing in top 300 towns, while in 2024 there are 13. Moreover, the rankings of most towns of Jiaxing in the list rise this year. 

Those towns of Jiaxing in the list are characterized by strong industries and distinctive characteristics. Leveraging the advantages of national-level China Chemical Materials Industry Park (Jiaxing), a first-class open port Jiaxing Port and a national-level Jiaxing Free Trade Zone, Zhapu now has embarked on rapid economic and social development backed up by the high-quality development of Jiaxing Port and the institutional advantages of its development zone. With a total output of the industrial enterprises above the designated size exceeding 100 billion yuan, Zhapu now is one of Top 100 Towns of China, a national-level healthy town and a national-level garden town. Working faster to reshape its economic pattern of development, Xucun now is integrating the development of home textiles, clothing and digital economy, continuously enhancing the influence of “World-class Home Textile Industry Cluster Zone”, “Famous Fabric Town of China” and “Cluster Zone for Women’s Clothing Supply Chain of China”. Located in the pilot zone of Demonstration Zone of Green and Integrated Ecological Development of the Yangtze River Delta, Yaozhuang Town is striving to be a pioneer in reform and innovation, and has achieved remarkable progress in reform, common prosperity, rural governance and green development.

In the context of new urbanization and rural revitalization in all aspects, strengthening town economy is a right move and an indispensable choice to reshape urban-rural relationship and promote urban-rural integration and prosperity, according to the Report.

As a pioneer in integrated urban-rural development, Jiaxing has taken strong and solid steps forward over the past 20 years. In the new era, Jiaxing is promising in developing new quality productive forces, fostering local characteristic industries and promoting higher-level opening up.