The GDP of China's Top 10 county-level cities in 2016. Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu province is ranked third with 230 billion yuan ($33.4 billion) in 2016, a year-on-year growth of 3.14 percent. Three other southern cities of Jiangsu, namely Kunshan, Jiangyin and Changshu, are among the top four listed. [Photo/yicai.com]

With faith in progress emerging from stability, Zhangjiagang in Jiangsu province realized a GDP of 230 billion yuan ($33.4 billion) in 2016, a year-on-year growth of 3.14 percent.

The strong economic performance has once again ensured that the port city ranks third among China's massive county-level cities, according to a report by business news website yicai.com.

The report also states that in 2016 the port city's public finance and budgeting revenue rose to 19 billion yuan, up by 9.1 percentage points; its total investment in fixed assets amounted to 72.5 billion yuan; actual inflow of foreign investment reached $600 million; total import and export volume achieved $26.5 billion, retail sales of consumer goods rose to 53 billion yuan, up 7.2 percentage points; and per capita disposal income grew by eight percentage points to 44,800 yuan.

All these remarkable results were attributed to Zhangjiagang's grounding in the structural reform of its supply front. The city strived to increase the quality and efficiency of the local supply system and to provide a growth impetus for sustainable economic development involving various aspects including excessive production capacity and industrial optimization and reorganization.

Zhangjiagang will continue to gear up its economic development and fulfill various economic targets during the 2016-20 period.

Jiangsu province also showed great economic potential last year, with four of its southern cities, namely Kunshan, Jiangyin, Zhangjiagang and Changshu, all with easy access to the abundant resources of the Yangtze River, taking up the top four positions.