(Yicai) Jan. 12 -- Changzhou, a manufacturing powerhouse in eastern Jiangsu province, will likely become the 25th Chinese city with an annual gross domestic product of over CNY1 trillion (USD139.5 billion).

Changzhou’s GDP is expected to have surpassed the threshold of CNY1 trillion last year, the city’s municipal government announced on Jan. 3. Jiangsu would then have five cities -- Suzhou, Nanjing, Wuxi, Nantong, and Changzhou -- with annual GDP over CNY1 trillion, ranking first in China.

The latest Chinese city to achieve such target was Dongguan in southern Guangdong province in 2021. Dongguan is one of China’s leading manufacturing hubs.

Located less than 200 kilometers from Shanghai, Changzhou had a population of 5.4 million and a GDP of CNY955 billion (USD134.6 billion) in 2022.

New energy has been the development focus of Changzhou’s manufacturing industry in recent years. The output value of its new energy manufacturing industry rose nearly 17 percent to CNY693.7 billion in the first 11 months of last year from a year earlier. The output value of new energy vehicles, new power equipment, and the photovoltaic industry soared 132 percent, 11 percent, and 8.2 percent, respectively.

Changzhou is the production base of Chinese electric automaker Li Auto, which delivered 376,030 cars last year, up 182 percent from the year before and ranking first among Chinese NEV startups.

Jiangsu recently issued a policy document supporting the development of Changzhou’s new energy industry, promoting the city to achieve a new energy manufacturing output value of CNY1 trillion by 2025 and become a new energy industry hub with international competitiveness by 2035.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Futura Costaglione