Ningbo unveils development goals for next five years

Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province unveiled its development goals during the 14th Five-Year-Plan (2021-25) period as well as for 2035.

According to a guideline released by local authorities on March 3, the city looks to achieve high-level socialist modernization by 2035 and become a model city in the province's "Important Window" campaign that demonstrates the superiority of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics.

By 2025, the city's gross domestic product, per capita GDP and per capita disposable income are expected to be double of 2020. 

The city aims to lift its GDP to 1.7 trillion yuan and increase urbanization rate to 80 percent by 2025. 

Specifically, R&D spending is targeted to account for 3.6 percent of the city's economic output in 2025.

Ningbo will also be home to more than 6,000 high-tech enterprises by that time. The number of Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) patent applications is expected to surpass 1,000.

The city aims to be a national pilot zone for the high-quality development of the manufacturing sector and accommodate 100 manufacturing enterprises with the highest market share in their niche markets in China by 2025.

It will construct 40,000 5G base stations that provide city-wide coverage and achieve mass commercialization of 5G technologies.

By 2025, the added value of the core sectors of the digital economy in the city is expected to account for 11 percent of its GDP.

The total retail sales volume of social consumption goods is expected to exceed 600 billion yuan.

The city has also set the goal of increasing the exports and imports of cargos and services to 2 trillion yuan by 2025. Its foreign trade volume via ports should account for 5.5 percent of the nation's total.