City Introduction of Jiangsu, China: Zhangjiagang

Major Economic Indicators (2007)

Source: Zhangjiagang Economic and Social Development Report 2007

Introduction

Zhangjiagang, a county-level port city under the jurisdiction of Suzhou, was among the first batch of coastal cities opened up to foreign investment. It is located in the south-east of Jiangsu Province, along the Yangtze River. It neighbors Changshu to the south-east, Jiangyin to the west, and across the river to Nantong in the north. The port city is a distance of 98 km from Suzhou downtown area, 98.1 km from Shanghai, 40 km from Wuxi and 200 km from Nanjing.

Though there is no airport yet in Zhangjigang, the Wuxi Airport is a distance of only 37 km away, Shanghai Hongqiao Airport - 98 km, Shanghai Pudong International Airport - 150 km and Nanjing Lukou International Airport - 200 km. Zhangjiagang Port, a major port in Yangtze River, had cargo-throughput exceeding 120 million tons in 2007. The Jiangsu-Shanghai-Zhejiang Highway and the No. 338 National Highway pass directly through the city.

Economic Features

In 2007, the GDP of Zhangjiagang rose 19.1% to RMB 105 billion, ranking fourth among all the county-level cities in China and Jiangsu. As a main contributor to GDP, the industry sector generated value-added output of RMB 66.9 billion, accounting for 63.7% of the city’s total GDP.

Zhangjiagang has developed its major industries in metallurgy, textiles, mechanical and electronic, chemicals, food and edible oil processing, and construction materials sectors, which have achieved a total of RMB 258.3 billion industrial output, contributing 95.5% to the total of that from the enterprises with designated size and above in the city.

The Yangtze River International Metallurgical Industrial Park, set up in 2003, has an annual production capacity of 13.5 million tons of iron and 30 million tons of steel and related products. The major producers in the park are Shagang, SK and Posco. The Shagang Group, the largest private steel-maker in China, gained a sales revenue of RMB 73.7 billion in 2007. After its purchase of another private steel-maker, Yonggang, with a production capacity of 5 million tons of steel and steel products per year, Shagang is expected to be China’s second largest steel maker, with a production capacity expansion to 22 million tons annually. Eastcean Oils&Grains Industries (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd, a major branch under China’s largest food and oil producer, COFCO, made a sales revenue of RMB 13.9 billion in 2007.

The foreign-trade value added 36.1% year-on-year to US$17.1 billion in 2007, including export value of US$7.5 billion and import value of US$9.6 billion. It has attracted over one-hundred and ninety foreign-funded projects in 2007, with FDI climbing 9.4% year-on-year to US$1.8 billion, while the utilized FDI has amounted to US$500 million, up 15.4% year-on-year. The Zhangjiagang Free Trade Area, the provincial-level development zones, and the Yangtze River International Metallurgical Industrial Park, have attracted over 66% and 74.5% of the total FDI and utilized FDI in the city.