The year in review: Ten top stories of 2018

Rudong county in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, Feb 8 [Photo/IC]

From a new CASS ranking to cultural relics of Guoqing Temple, here are the top 10 news stories of Rudong county in Jiangsu province that captivated us in 2018.

1 Rudong moves four places in CASS's ranking

Rudong county has moved up four places to 41st in the list of top 100 counties in comprehensive competitiveness according to a report released by the National Academy of Economic Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASS).

The county's four-place rise was due to its continuous efforts to promote real economy in recent years.

Statistics show that the county's GDP reached 92 billion yuan ($13.61 billion) in 2018, an increase of 7.4 percent over the previous year. Revenue in the general public budgets grew by 5 percent to 5.76 billion yuan. The total value of the county's foreign trade reached 39 billion yuan, an annual increase of 49.4 percent.

The county has been listed among the top 100 ranking for its comprehensive competitiveness for 16 years in a row.

2 Rudong secures its place in project assessment

Rudong county ranked second in the project assessment of Nantong last year, the only county in the front array among the city's nine counties for three consecutive years.

Throughout 2018, construction began on 95 industrial projects with a total investment of 7.52 billion yuan and over 166 other industrial projects were completed.

A total of 20 projects with an investment of over 14 billion yuan were signed at the end of last year.