Fujian retains its position as one of the highest-ranking provinces in the country in terms of forest coverage ratio. [Photo/IC]

The coastal province of Fujian has made notable achievements during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) period, with its regional GDP rising from 2.85 trillion yuan ($423.79 billion) in 2016 to 4.24 trillion yuan last year, enabling it to leapfrog from 11th position in the nation in 2015 to 8th in 2019.

Over the past five years, Fujian has adhered to the new development philosophy of emphasizing innovative, coordinated, green and open development for all.

Innovative development

Fujian has cultivated 19 industrial clusters with their output value exceeding 100 billion yuan, doubling the figure of 2015. The province's emerging industries have also witnessed a boom in the past five years. The added value of strategic emerging industries accounted for 23.8 percent of industries above a designated scale in 2019, 5.8 percentage points higher than in 2015.

The digital economy in Fujian has grown rapidly in the past years, with its added economic value hitting 1.73 trillion yuan in 2019, accounting for more than 40 percent of the province's total GDP.

The environment index for scientific and technological innovation ranked ninth in the country last year. There are 98 public service demonstration platforms at or above the provincial level for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Coordinated development

Fujian has launched a project for promoting its special agricultural products, and the total output value of the whole industrial chain of its top 10 rural characteristic industries was 1.78 trillion yuan last year.

The high-speed and other railway lines form an extensive passenger transport network covering all cities in Fujian. Rural transport has seen continuous improvement in the province as well, with the expressways covering 80 percent of its towns and townships.

Green development

Fujian was officially designated as China's first national ecological conservation pilot zone in 2016. Its forest coverage ratio surged to 66.8 percent, leading the nation for 40 consecutive years.

Opening-up development

Fujian recorded 1.33 trillion yuan in imports and exports trade in 2019, ranking seventh in the country. Fujian also reported growth in trade with countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), with the total foreign trade value expanding to 455.3 billion yuan last year, accounting for 43.7 percent of the province's total amount.

Shared development

Fujian has made great strides in poverty alleviation. As of the end of 2019, the province had lifted 1.1 million people from 2,201 villages out of poverty and delisted 23 poor counties from the poverty list.

The province has made steady progress in providing better access to childcare, education, medical services, elderly care, housing and social assistance over the past five years, in turn significantly improving the living standards of its citizens.