Fujian announced today three Top 10 lists, i.e. Top 10 Counties in Economic Strength, Top 10 Counties in Economic Performance, and Top 10 Counties in Urban Development, for the year 2022. These counties also include county-level prefectures and districts.

Unlike in the past, local GDP is no longer the dominant factor in the assessment system of the county economy where stocks and growth have also been adopted as important factors to consider. The assessment system assesses not only economic development but also the county’s potential and sustainability.

According to the assessment results, of the Top 10 counties in economic strength, Fuqing rose to 2nd place, overtaking Shishi for the first time while Fu’an went up two places from 10 to 8. Of the Top 10 best-performing county economies, Minqing and Liancheng are the two counties that have made their way to the list for the 5th consecutive year. 

In recent years, the three categories of Top 10 counties have been the forces underpinning the quality development of the provincial economy. With an area of 30% of the province, they combined contributed 55% of the growth of Fujian in 2021, with their growth rate 1.5% higher than the province’s average level.

The counties in the three lists are also home to more than 70% of Fujian’s mega-industrial clusters (i.e. those estimated to be worth more than 100 billion yuan) and account for more than half of the province’s research funding. Both the operating revenue of their Above Designated Size Enterprises and the added value of their tertiary industry are close to 60% of those of the whole province, respectively, making them a vital force in developing a higher quality modern industrial system.

These 30 counties are critical to the advancement of Fujian’s common prosperity initiative. In 2021, they boasted an average per capita disposable income of 3,771 yuan higher than the provincial average, and accounted for 54% of the province’s total retail sales of social consumer goods, with a growth rate of the latter 1.8% higher than the provincial average.

Appendix: Lists of the Three Top 10's:

Top 10 Counties (including county-level prefectures and districts) in Economic Strength: Jinjiang, Fuqing, Shishi (prefecture), Minhou, Nan’an (prefecture), Hui'an, Shanghang, Fu’an (prefecture), Lianjiang, and Yong’an (prefecture)

Top 10 Counties (including county-level prefectures and districts) in Economic Performance: Xiapu, Dehua, Minqing, Ninghua, Liancheng, Anxi, Changting, Zhouning, Yongchun, and Hua'an.

Top 10 Counties (including county-level prefectures and districts) in Urban Development: Siming (district), Gulou (district), Haicang (district), Jiaocheng (district), Changle (district), Huli (district), Changtai (district), Mawei (district), Taijiang (district), and Longwen (district)