By adhering to opening-up in all areas and striving to advance in development, the city has made a historical breakthrough in its overall strength. Its GDP hit 2 trillion yuan in an increase of 6.3%, ranking the 6th in the country.
Suzhou's continuous effort in innovation and industry optimization and upgrading gives it an edge to boost its overall strength in science and technology that tops in Jiangsu Province in 12 consecutive years. The total R&D investment of the entire society reaches 340 billion yuan, among the top in the country. The number of valid patents for invention owned per 10,000 capita has risen by 106%.
Due to its devoted energy to prioritize ecological civilization and coordinate its urban and rural growth, the city has built the only "national ecological garden city cluster" and has been selected into the first batch of National Ecological Civilization Demonstration Cities and the first batch of cities with beautiful landscapes.
With the vision of making development people-centered, the city has steadily improved the living standards. Per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents increases by 7.2% and 8.4% respectively. The income gap narrows down to 1.85.
The city is fully committed to deepening reform and improving the government efficiency. Further advances have been made in the reform of government institutions, contributing to the remarkable achievement in the reforms that delegate power, improve regulation and upgrade services.
