A bird's-eye view of NETDA. [Photo provided to en.nantong.gov.cn]

Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province recently hosted a conference for the high-quality development of its development zones, which have become a strong driving force for the city's further development.

Since becoming one of China's first coastal open cities in 1984, Nantong has accumulated approval for 17 provincial-level and above development zones. Despite occupying less than 20 percent of the city's land area, these zones have contributed 50 percent of the regional GDP and 70 percent of the total foreign trade volume.

Each of the 17 development zones has set clear catch-up and striving goals. For example, the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Area benchmarks against the Suzhou New District and aims to achieve the 20th position among national-level economic development zones by 2027. It also aims to surpass 100 billion yuan ($13.64 billion) in industrial output value by 2033.

According to the conference, by 2027, the GDP of the development zones in Nantong is expected to account for more than 60 percent of the city's total, with foreign trade volume exceeding 75 percent and actual utilization of foreign investment exceeding 90 percent.

By the same year, NETDA aims to establish three to four industrial clusters worth 50 billion yuan each, while other national-level development zones aim to develop over five industrial clusters worth 30 billion yuan each. Nantong also strives to build around 30 influential industrial parks with substantial capacity and high concentration within approximately three years.