The port city of Zhangjiagang in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province ranks third on the 2020 list of China's top 100 county-level cities. [Photo/VCG]

Zhangjiagang, a port city along the Yangtze River, enjoys a strategic location and strong industrial foundation. It is one of the most competitive county-level cities in China, and ranked third on the 2020 list of China's top 100 county-level cities.

The city's regional GDP grew 6 percent year-on-year to 285 billion yuan ($40 billion) in 2019, while its general public budget revenue grew 5.8 percent to 24.7 billion yuan.

Investment in fixed assets increased by 10.3 percent year-on-year. Retail sales of consumer goods totaled 64.2 billion yuan, up 6 percent year-on-year, and per capita disposable income of all residents grew 8.1 percent year-on-year to 57,800 yuan.

The gross value of the industrial output of above-designated-scale enterprises in Zhangjiagang reached 453 billion yuan. The cargo throughput of Zhangjiagang Port was 235 million metric tons, and foreign trade volume totaled 58.5 million tons.

Currently, Zhangjiagang houses more than 10,000 industrial enterprises, including over 1,000 foreign-funded firms and 21 listed firms. Fifty-six Fortune 500 companies have been cultivated or brought in by the city.

Four Zhangjiagang enterprises were included on the 2019 list of the Top 500 Chinese Companies, while seven were selected among the 2019 China Top 500 Private Companies.

Zhangjiagang's foreign trade volume totaled 236.6 billion yuan in 2019, down 1.5 percent year-on-year. Exports were 111 billion yuan, a decrease of 3.7 percent year-on-year, and imports totaled 125.6 billion yuan, up 0.6 percent year-on-year.

The actual use of foreign capital was $500 million last year, a year-on-year increase of 26.5 percent. The city approved 15 overseas investment projects worth $420 million.