Zhejiang: 70 years on

Editor's Note: Starting this May, the State Council Information Office has held news conferences for each province, autonomous region and municipality to give briefings about their social and economic development since the founding of New China 70 years ago.

During the Zhejiang session held July 12 in Beijing, Che Jun, secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and governor Yuan Jiajun gave details of the province's achievements.

A province with strong economic strength

Zhejiang's GDP in 2018 reached 5.62 trillion yuan ($796.79 billion), ranking fourth in China while the amount was about 1.5 billion in 1949. Per capita GDP increased from 72 yuan in 1949 to 98,643 yuan in 2018, ranking fifth in China.

Zhejiang achieved general financial revenue of 1.17 trillion yuan and its general public budget revenue ranked fourth in China in 2018. Investment in research and development (R&D) accounted for 2.52 percent of its GDP instead of 0.23 percent in 1990. Zhejiang's contribution rate in technological progress increased to 61.8 percent.

Realizing all-round well-being

The per capita disposable income of urban residents in Zhejiang increased from 116 yuan in 1949 to 55,600 yuan in 2018, ranking first in China for the 18th consecutive year, while that of rural residents climbed from 47 yuan in 1949 to 27,300 yuan in 2018, ranking first in China for the 34th consecutive year.

Encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship

The added value ratio of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries in Zhejiang has changed from 68.5:8.0:23.5 in 1949 to 3.5:41.8:54.7 in 2018. On average, one out of every nine people in Zhejiang is a boss and one out of 26 people in the province owns a company.

Improvement in people's livelihoods

The average life span of Zhejiang residents reached 78.8 years in 2018, while Hangzhou people's average life expectancy reached 80, according to figures released by Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Statistics. During the early days of New China, the average life span for Zhejiang people was 38 years, three years longer than the national average.

The average personal living space for rural residents in the province has reached over 60 square meters in 2018 while that for urban residents is over 40 sq m.