Statistical Communique of Changzhou on the 2016

Local Economic and Social Development

In 2016, the Changzhou local authorities adhered to the principle of steady and progressive development, actively practiced new ideas and concepts, enhanced the supply side reform, accelerated transformation and upgrading, proactively promoted city-industry integration, and worked hard to improve people¡¯s living standards. As a result, the city maintained a steady economic and social development and ushered in the 13th ¡°Five Year Plan¡± period with a good start.

I. Overview of the Local Economy

The local economy maintained a steady growth. Preliminary accounting shows that Changzhou¡¯s gross domestic product (GDP) of 2016 hit 577.39 billion RMB, up by 8.5% (calculated at constant prices) in comparison to 2015. Of this total, the value added of the primary industry reached 15.27 billion RMB, down by 0.9%; that of the secondary industry grew by 7.4% to 268.25 billion RMB; and that of the tertiary industry grew by 10.1% to 293.87 billion RMB. The per capita GDP (by permanent resident population) topped 122,721 RMB, equal to 18,476 US dollars (converted at the average exchange rate). The percentages of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries in the economy were adjusted to 2.6%:46.5%:50.9%. The percentage of the tertiary industry was up by 1.4 percentage points. The value added of the private sector grew by 8.6% to 388.23 billion RMB (calculated at constant prices), taking up 67.2% of the total local GDP.

Fiscal revenues slowed down. In 2016, the general public budgetary revenues grew by 3% to 48.03 billion RMB, among which tax revenues grew by 2.5% to 38.32 billion RMB, accounting for 79.8% of the total. And among all major tax revenues, value added tax (VAT) revenues (including those transformed from the business tax) reached 13.25 billion RMB, business tax revenues reached 5.52 billion RMB and corporate tax revenues reached 5.13 billion RMB. The general public spending in 2016 increased by 4.7% to 50.81 billion RMB, among which spending on education hit 8.37 billion RMB, that on social security and employment hit 5.45 billion RMB, that on health care and family planning hit 4.47 billion RMB, and that on science and technology hit 2.40 billion RMB.

II. Agriculture and Rural Economy

Agricultural production remained stable. In 2016, the total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishing combined grew by 4.5% to 28.4 billion RMB (calculated at current prices), among which agriculture grew by 3.5% to 15.24 billion RMB, forestry grew by 3.7% to 200 million RMB, animal husbandry grew by 1.7% to 3.94 billion RMB, and fishing grew by 6.9% to 7.3 billion RMB. Furthermore, the output value of the agriculture-related service sectors reached 1.72 billion RMB, up by 10.1% over 2015. Due to adverse weather conditions, the sown area of grain fell by 7% to 1.992 million mu (1mu = 0.0667 hectares). And the aggregate grain output dropped by 13.4% to 938,000 tons, among which the summer and autumn grain output stood at 250,000 tons and 688,000 tons respectively, down by 19.2% and 11.2% in comparison to 2015. Also in 2016, the rice yield per unit decreased by 4.1% to 617.4kg/mu and the wheat yield per unit fell by 13.9% to 307.1kg/mu.

Modern agriculture maintained the growth momentum. In 2016, 43,000 mu of high-standard farming land, 15,000 mu of protected agricultural land and 11,000 mu of facility fishery area were created, making the city¡¯s total to 1.393 million mu (taking up 61.9% of the city¡¯s total farming land), 475,000 mu (accounting for over 21% of the city¡¯s total farming land) and 203,000 mu (accounting for over 36% of the city¡¯s total aquaculture area) respectively. Besides, the city¡¯s agricultural mechanization rate was estimated to reach 86.5%.

III. Industry and Construction

Industrial production increased steadily. In 2016, the total output value of industrial enterprises above the designated size in Changzhou reached 1.20968 trillion RMB. In line with provincial statistics standards, the value added of these enterprises grew by 8%. Of all the industrial output value, the output value of heavy-industry enterprises and light-industry enterprises above the designated size stood at 942.69 billion and 276.99 billion RMB. All the seven major industry sectors registered a year-on-year growth. In terms of the industrial output value of the seven sectors, the electronics, machinery, chemistry, construction, textile & garments, metallurgy, and bio-medicine sectors reached 73.54 billion, 489.24 billion, 211.95 billion, 36.17 billion, 103.25 billion, 197.5 billion, and 28.5 billion RMB respectively. In addition, corporate performances improved. Revenues generated by primary business of the enterprises above the designated size and their profits hit 1.24359 trillion RMB and 72.53 billion RMB.

The ten major industrial chains continued to progress. In 2016, the aggregate output value of industrial enterprises above the designated size in the ten major industrial chains grew by 9.5% to 421.27 billion RMB, accounting for 34.3% (one percentage point higher than that of 2015) of the city¡¯s total output value of industrial enterprises above the designated size. Moreover, the output value increase of these enterprises accounted for 36.7% of that of industrial enterprises above the designated size. Among the ten major industrial chains, the output value of the rail transportation sector dropped by 2.8% to 40.02 billion RMB; that of the automobile & parts surged by 31.1% to 87.31 billion RMB; that of the agricultural and engineering machinery sector increased by 4.9% to 57.73 billion RMB; that of the PV sector climbed by 8.4% to 69.08 billion RMB; that of the carbon material sector grew by 14% to 8.65 billion RMB; that of the new medicine sector increased by 5% to 43.2 billion RMB; that of the new lighting sector climbed by 8.1% to 11.16 billion; that of the general aviation sector surged by 30.5% to 2.27 billion RMB; that of the smart grid sector grew by 2.1% to 74.37 billion; and that of the smart CNC and robotics sector increased by 11.8% to 27.47 billion RMB.

The construction sector slowed down. In 2016, the construction output value of local construction enterprises fell by 1.2% to 127.34 billion RMB. The floor space under construction decreased by 8.1% to 92.362 million m2 and the floor space completed increased by 3.7% to 35.752 million. The per capita productivity of the construction sector fell by 2.8% to 277,000 RMB/person (calculated by the total construction output value).

IV. Fixed Asset Investment

The investment structure continued to improve. In 2016, fixed asset investment in Changzhou grew by 6.5% to 360.51 billion RMB, among which industrial investments grew by 9.2% to 191.85 billion RMB and tertiary industry investments climbed by 2.7% to 168.15 billion RMB. Investments from hi-tech enterprises grew by 8.8% to 89.12 billion RMB. Real estate investments fell by 12.1% to 44.67 billion RMB. 33.889 million m2 of residential floor space was developed, down by 14.2%. Among this total, 5.143 million m2 was newly started, down by 19.4%. By end of 2016, 5.353 million m2 of residential floor space was to be sold, 975,000 m2 less than that of 2015.

V. Domestic Trade

The local consumption continued to grow. In 2016, the total retail sales of consumer goods grew by 10.7% to 220.28 billion RMB. Grouped by consumption patterns, sales volume for the wholesale, retail, catering and hotel businesses reached 27.83 billion, 173.77 billion, 16.96 billion and 1.72 billion RMB respectively, up by 15.9%, 9.6%, 13.2% and 16% respectively. Areawise, sales volume in urban areas grew by 10.7% to 206.01 billion RMB and that in rural areas increased by 10.3% to 14.27 billion RMB.

VI. Open Economy

Foreign trade gradually improved. In 2016, Changzhou¡¯s foreign trade volume stood at 182 billion RMB, up by 4.6% in comparison to 2015. Among this total, exports grew by 4.2% to 137.5 billion RMB. Local enterprises expanded exports to emerging markets, especially to countries alongside the Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road. In fact, exports to these countries grew by 9.8%, 5.6% higher than the average export growth rate. Hi-tech exports increased by 5.1% to 24 billion RMB.

Progress was made in foreign investment despite all the difficulties. 4.11 billion US dollars of new foreign investment was agreed upon through 2016, up by 48.3% over 2015. Of the total, 24 investment projects were above 100 million US dollars each, 10 projects more than those of 2015. Also in 2016, 2.5 billion US dollars were actually utilized, up by 0.5% over 2015. Besides, 6 new regional headquarters and functional facilities (provincial-level) of multinational companies were established in the city. And 5 Global Fortune 500 companies like Sumitomo Electric and Fujitsu further expanded their investments in the city.

International cooperation continued to advance. In 2016, 91 new outbound investment projects were recorded with a total agreed investment of 970 million US dollars from local enterprises, up by 27.9% over 2015. Among these projects, 16 were connected to the ¡°Belt and Road¡± initiative with an agreed investment of 190 million US dollars from local enterprises, accounting for 20% of the total. Service outsource contracts worth of 490 million US dollars were signed and those worth of 410 million US dollars were executed, up by 27.9% and 29.0% respectively. Of this total, offshore service outsource contracts worth of 160 million US dollars were signed and those worth of 140 million US dollars were executed, up by 7.2% and 32.7% respectively.

Local development zones were accelerated. In 2016, development zones across Changzhou registered a general public budgetary revenue of 23.66 billion RMB and received an industrial investment of 141.82 billion RMB as well as an infrastructure investment of 30.34 billion RMB. Besides, these development zones utilized a total foreign capital of 2.3 billion US dollars and secured an agreed foreign investment of 3.7 billion US dollars. 37 new foreign projects were added to the development zones with an agreed investment of over 30 million US dollars each, taking up 86% of the city¡¯s total. Moreover, the Zhongguancun Science Park was given a go-ahead to build itself into a provincial hi-tech zone. And the Jiangsu-Macao Cooperation Park was official launched. In addition, the Wujin National Hi-tech Industrial Zone and Wujin Economic Zone were designated as national eco-friendly model industrial zones.

Internal exchanges remained active. Changzhou received 215 foreign delegations of 1399 persons throughout 2016. Among them were 35 groups of 174 embassy and consulate officials, 43 groups of 242 persons from international sister cities, 17 groups of 52 foreign journalists, and 39 trade delegations of 371 persons. Two more cities were added to Changzhou¡¯s international sister city list in 2016, namely, Minden of Germany and Solihull of the UK.

VII. Transportation, Post, Telecommunications and Tourism

The local transportation developed smoothly. By end of 2016, the total length of highways in Changzhou reached 9,031 km with 306 km of expressways. In 2016, the total passenger traffic stood stood at 72.045 million persons, down by 4.9% over 2015. The total freight traffic stood at 133.961 million tons, up by 3.4%. The passenger traffic handled by highways fell by 7.4% to 54.23 million persons and the passenger flows dropped by 7.7% to 3.71 billion person-kilometers. The freight traffic handled by highways grew by 4% to 110 million tons and the freight flows increased by 4% to 12.2 billion ton-kilometers. The passenger and freight traffic handled by railways grew by 4.8% and 2.9% to 14.343 million persons and 1.089 million tons respectively. Passengers and freight & mails handled by civil aviation reached 1.956 million persons and 15,700 tons, up by 8% and down by 10.9% respectively. Besides, the volume of freight handled by ports grew by 4.5% to 93.85 million tons and the volume handled by the Changzhou Yangtze River Port in particular climbed by 11.4% to 40.31 million tons. By end of 2016, the total number of automobiles for civilian use hit 1.098 million, among which private ones topped 939,000.

Post and telecommunications services grew fast. The total turnover and revenue of post services reached 4.06 billion and 3.39 billion RMB, up by 38.5% and 30.5% respectively. Revenues of express delivery services surged by 41.3% to 2.45 billion RMB and the volume of express parcels surged by 40.4% to 160 million RMB. The telecommunications services registered a total revenue of 5.47 billion units, up by 3.7%. By end of 2016, there were 1.234 million fixed-line phone subscribers and 5.262 million mobile phone users. Of the total mobile phone users, 3.889 million were 4G service subscribers. In addition, internet users grew to 2.161 million, among which 2.103 million were broadband users.

Tourism enjoyed a fast growth. In 2016, the local tourism sector generated a total revenue of 83.36 billion RMB, with a year-on-year growth of 14%. The total number of tourists to the city grew by 10.1% to 60.042 million. The city received 59.896 million domestic tourists who contributed to a tourism revenue of 82 billion RMB, up by 10% and 14.2% respectively. It also received 146,000 inbound overnight tourists who generated a tourism revenue of 130 million US dollars, up by 14.9% and 9% respectively. By end of 2016, Changzhou boasted 3 provincial and 1 national holiday resorts, and 32 national Class-A scenic areas, among which were 2 5A scenic areas and 9 4A ones. The city also had 17 national industrial and agricultural tourist demonstration sites, 28 4-star provincial countryside tourist demonstration sites, 4 provincial industrial tourist sites, and 7 provincial tourist bases for self-drive travels. There were also 139 local travel agencies with one Jiangsu Top 20 travel agency. Besides, there were 46 star hotels, among which were 7 5-star hotels and 19 4-star ones. The local tourism sector also witnessed improved services. 67 new tourist toilets were built and 31 were renovated. In addition, 15 new tourist parking grounds (covering an area of 123,000 m2) were created with 283 new parking lots for buses and 2,399 ones for cars. And 282 guide boards were newly created or updated.

VIII. The Financial Sector

The local financial sector developed smoothly. By end of 2016, Chinese yuan-denominated deposits in financial institutions across the city grew by 110.21 billion RMB to 854.08 billion RMB, up by 14.8%. Of this total, household savings grew by 5.4% to 336.68 billion RMB. Loans of all the financial institutions in the city grew by 68.86 billion RMB to 604.32 billion RMB, up by 12.9%. Of this total, household loans hit 146.01 billion RMB while loans taken by non-financial companies and other organizations topped 458.23 billion RMB, up by 18.3% and 11.2% respectively.

The local insurance sector enjoyed a steady growth. By end of 2016, insurance companies across the city totaled 68, among which were 28 property insurance companies and 40 life insurance ones. Insurance premium throughout the year surged by 43.6% to 22.49 billion RMB, among which life insurance premium grew by 61.5% to 16.94 billion RMB while property insurance premium increased by 7.4% to 5.55 billion RMB. Insurance companies paid an indemnity of 6.74 billion RMB, up by 22.3% in comparison to 2015. Of this total, life indemnity stood at 3.32 billion RMB, up by 53% whereas property indemnity increased by 2.3% to 3.42 billion RMB.

The local stock market slowed down. By end of 2016, there were 46 securities business offices across the city, managing 1.069 million securities accounts with A shares worth of 119.8 billion RM. The total securities transaction volume in 2016 fell by 39.6% to 1943.9 billion RMB, among which A-share transactions tumbled by 42.4% to 1668.4 billion RMB, B-share transactions surged by 817.7% to 32.1 billion RMB, fund transactions plummeted by 55.4% to 33.44 billion RMB, and bond transactions dropped by 14.0% to 209.96 billion RMB. By end of 2016, there were 43 publicly traded local companies with an aggregate financing of 63.8 billion RMB. Five companies had their Initial Public Offerings (IPO) in 2016, raising a total fund of 1.65 billion RMB.

IX. Science and Technology Innovation

Local innovation continued to rise. In 2016, 43,860 patent applications were made, among which were 15,349 invention patent applications. And 17,790 patents were granted, among which were 2,865 invention patents. Patents per 10,000 persons reached 24. Besides, 105 new hi-tech enterprises were established, bringing the city¡¯s total to 1,231. In addition, 1,066 industry-academy-research integration projects were newly created. The city ranked the 4th place in Jiangsu in terms of science & technology progress. With a great focus on attracting professionals, the city boasted 266,500 skilled professionals by year¡¯s end, making the per capita skilled professionals to 947 persons/10,000 workers.

Innovation platforms continued to improve. Throughout 2016, 56 new provincial and national R & D institutions were created, bringing the city¡¯s total ¡°Two Stations and Three Centers¡± R & D entities to 1,249. Of this total, 631 were national and provincial R & D entities. Furthermore, 15 new incubators and accelerators were established with a floor space of over 500,000 m2. By end of 2016, Changzhou boasted a total number of 123 incubators and accelerators with an aggregate floor space of over 8.5 million m2, which in turn nurtured over 6,300 science & technology enterprises. Preparation work on the Jiangsu Smart Manufacturing Innovation Center and four provincial industrial research institutes was advanced, and two out of the four institutes were officially inaugurated. Moreover, 30 key municipal public R & D institutes were either completed or upgraded in 2016.

South Jiangsu Innovation Demonstration Zone was advanced. With the completion of the space planning, the main framework of the South Jiangsu Innovation Demonstration Zone (Changzhou section) was basically established with the Changzhou Science and Education Town as its core, Changzhou National Hi-tech District and Wujin National Hi-tech Industrial Zone as its key parts and other multiple industrial parks as its main components. Approvals were given to the local authorities to build the Jiangsu West Taihu Lake Hi-tech Industrial Zone and Jiangsu Zhongguancun Hi-tech Industrial Zone. Furthermore, the China-Israel (Changzhou) Innovation Park was accelerated and the city¡¯s key talent-innovation-driven strategy generated noticeable benefits. Besides, the Wujin National Hi-tech Industrial Zone and the Jiangnan Graphene Research Institute were designated as regional science & technology service pilot zone and industrial science & technology service pilot institute respectively by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

X. Education, Culture, Public Health and Sports

Educational modernization continued to deepen. By end of 2016, the city had a total number of 696 schools with 813,000 registered students and 58,000 faculties. The nine-year compulsory education coverage maintained 100% while gross enrollment rate to senior high schools also stood at 100%. In 2015, Changzhou scored 88.1 points in terms of of educational modernization. The school modernization campaign progressed. Throughout 2016, 52 related projects were listed as key projects for annual examination, 6 projects became operational, 38 projects were under construction, and 8 projects were at the initial paper-work phase. Education at various levels and of different types developed in synergy. Throughout 2016, 20 new provincial premium kindergartens, 13 new municipal premium ones and 7 new municipal featured ones were built. Furthermore, the ¡°Premium Compulsory-Education School Campaign¡± was started, which witnessed the first group of 6 schools to pass the appraisal. And the ¡°Jiangsu Advanced and Modern Vocational School Campaign¡± was successfully completed with 8 provincial advanced and modern vocational schools by year¡¯s end, making Changzhou a top city in Jiangsu in this regard. The ¡°Jiangsu Advanced Demonstration Training Base Campaign¡± was also conducted, with 10 training bases operational and passing relevant appraisal. Changzhou also ranked high in Jiangsu in terms of education quality. 80.6% of national college entrance exam takers in the city reached the second-tier college admission line in 2016, up by 3.1% over 2015 whereas 26.31% reached the first-tier college admission line, up by almost 2%. And the higher technical education admission rate of the city¡¯s vocational school graduates hit 37.6%. Moreover, in terms of the total score, local vocational school students ranked the third place in the 2016 Jiangsu Provincial Vocational School Skill Competition and the second place in the 2016 Jiangsu Skill Championship Competition.

The local cultural service developed fast. By end of 2016, there were 11 arts performance associations, 8 arts & cultural galleries, 27 museums. There were also 5 public libraries which received 2.366 million visitors throughout the year. The city also had 7 local radio programs and 7 local TV programs, with subscribers to cable TV programs and digital TV programs hitting 1.16 million and 1.147 million. The Changzhou Museum was qualified for ¡°National First Class Museum¡± and won the title ¡°2016 Most Creative Chinese Museum¡±. Also in 2016, the city was qualified for ¡°Jiangsu Public Cultural Service Demonstration Zone¡± and the city¡¯s four-tier cultural facility network was fundamentally established. Public cultural facilities per 10,000 persons exceeded 1,600 m2. Besides, the mass cultural campaign ¡°Culture 100¡± was held for three years in a row, with the 2016 campaign launching 10 series of 387 free cultural programs for citizens. The original Xi opera drama the Sunset of Qingguo Alley was performed in Beijing as a key representative drama of Jiangsu. The farce Happy Carrot was selected as a top 10 Jiangsu drama arts project and was staged in the third Jiangsu Arts Festival. In addition, the drama Love in the Dragon City was nominated for the National Peony Award.

The local public health service continued to improve. By end of 2016, there were 1,267 medical institutions with 25,000 hospital beds across the city. The city¡¯s medical staff totaled 31,000, among which were 12,447 licensed/assistant doctors and 13,540 registered nurses. On average, every one thousand citizens had 2.6 licensed/assistant doctors. Furthermore, comprehensive reforms on public hospitals were further deepened while regional medical alliance system reached 100% coverage. The public health service efficiency was boosted. The per capita subsidy for basic public health services rose to 60 RMB and the qualification rate of citizens¡¯ e-medical records hit 94.7%. Also in 2016, the city improved smart health services and became one of the first national pilot cities for building medical big data centers and industrial parks.

The local sports service boomed. By end of 2016, Changzhou boasted 12,837 playgrounds, among which were 27 stadiums and 30 gymnasiums. The city¡¯s public sports facilities covered a total area of 1.479 million m2 with 356,000 m2 of newly-added space in 2016. Sports work for public good was further advanced. 25 public fitness demonstration projects were built, including P.K.O. football playgrounds, basketball playgrounds with lighting and fabricated swimming pools. 288 public fitness spots and 2,494 fitness equipment pieces were either created or upgraded. 8 international sports games were held throughout 2016 such as China Badminton Masters, 1st Changzhou International Ballroom Dance Open Championship and Wujin West Taihu Lake Half-Marathon. And 24 national sports games as well as 16 provincial sports games were also held in the city. Moreover, new achievements were made in competitive sports. For instance, 5 Changzhou local athletes and 4 athletes jointly trained by Changzhou municipal and Jiangsu provincial sports authorities participated in the 31st Olympics and won 2 gold medals and 1 bronze medal. The Jiangsu women¡¯s softball team jointly managed by the Jiangsu Provincial Sports Bureau, Changzhou Municipal People¡¯s Government and Najing University of Technology won the National Tournament champion and the Nation Championship champion in 2016.

XI. Population, People¡¯s Livelihood and Social Security

The local population remained stable. By end of 2016, there were 4.708 million permanent residents with a year-on-year growth of 0.1%, among which 3.343 million were urban residents. And the urbanization rate reached 71%. The total number of registered residents grew by 1.1% to 3.749 million, among which 1.852 million were males, up by 0.9% whereas 1.897 million were females, up by 1.3%. The birth rate and death rate of the registered residents stood at 9.93¡ë and 6.06¡ë respectively, with a natural population growth rate of 3.87¡ë.

Employment and entrepreneurship were constantly promoted. In 2016, 134,000 persons were newly employed, 51,000 laid-off workers were reemployed, 15,000 persons started their own business with government support, 11,000 disadvantaged persons became employed with government aids, and 522 disabled persons were arranged with jobs by the local government. The end-of-year registered urban unemployment rate was 1.85%.

People¡¯s incomes were on a steady rise. In 2016, the per capita disposable income of local residents grew by 8.6% to 38,435 RMB. The per capita disposable income of urban residents increased by 7.8% to 46,058 RMB while that of rural residents grew by 8.5% to 23,780 RMB. The ratio of the urban residents¡¯ income to the rural residents¡¯ income stood at 1.94:1. The per capita spending in 2016 grew by 7.9% to 23,980 RMB. The per capita spending of urban residents rose by 6.8% to 27,080 RMB whereas that of rural residents grew by 12.2% to 16,567 RMB. The Engel Coefficient of urban residents and rural residents stood at 27.2% and 30.8%, down by 0.8% and 0.9% respectively over 2015.

CPI grew at a mild pace. The city¡¯s general Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 102.5. Among the eight categories of consumer goods, six witnessed price hikes while two registered price drops. To be more specific, the prices of food & cigarettes & liquors, garments, housing, consumer goods & services, health care and other goods & services grew by 3.6%, 3.3%, 1.9%, 2.5%, 12.6% and 2.6% respectively. And the prices of transportation & telecommunications and entertaining/educational/cultural goods & services dropped by 1.3% and 0.4%.

Efforts to provide security housing were enhanced. In 2016, 27,440 new security housing units were started and 27,476 units were basically completed. 1,151 new households enjoyed public rental housing, among which 829 households were given rental housing units directly while 322 households received rental subsidies. The threshold for households to qualify for public rental housing and affordable housing was lowered to below 3,560 RMB per month (per capita disposable income of a household).

Social security was on a steady rise. By end of 2016, 1.379 million local residents were covered by the enterprise employee¡¯s endowment insurance system, up by 3.1% over 2015. 1.93 million residents were covered by the urban workers¡¯ basic medical insurance system, up by 2.5%. And 1.116 million residents were covered by the urban unemployment insurance system, up by 2.7%. The three major insurance systems (endowment insurance, medical insurance and unemployment insurance) covered 98% of the total population. In addition, the average pension for enterprise retirees grew by 4.1% to 2,143 RMB.

Social welfare continued to improve. The city¡¯s subsistence allowance continued to rise in 2016. The subsistence allowance for residents in Tianning District, Zhonglou District, Xinbei District and Wujin District was raised to 730 RMB per month. And that for residents in Jintan District and Liyang County-city stood at 670 RMB per month. In 2016, 19,584 households and 32,229 persons were covered by the local subsistence allowance network, among which were 6,738 urban households & 10,679 urban persons and 12,846 rural households & 21,550 rural persons. A total subsistence allowance of 190 million RMB was handed out. Also in 2016, 274,000 residents received direct medical aids of 61.898 million RMB. By end of 2016, there were 102 aged care institutions with 22,009 beds, accommodating 12,615 persons. The sales volume of lottery tickets throughout the year hit 1.143 billion RMB.

XII. City Construction and Public Utilities

Local infrastructure continued to improve. In 2016, the No.122 Jiangsu Provincial Highway (Changzhou east section) became operational. Construction work on infrastructure projects like the No. 340 Jiangsu Provincial Highway (Changzhou east section) and Changzhou Metro Line1 (I phase) progressed smoothly. In addition, the city¡¯s road network continued to improve. Yongning Rd., Xinyi Rd., Longhui Rd., South Hongmei Rd. and North Xintang Rd. became operational. Key projects like the Qingguo Alley Historic and Cultural Block, Changzhou Cultural Square and Changzhou Fiance & Business Area were accelerated. Water projects with earthwork of 33.011 million cubic meters were completed. And 20 km2 of land with soil erosion was restored. Extension & cleaning work on Xinmeng River and Xingou River was also advanced smoothly.

Public transportation continued to improve. By end of 2016, there were all together 324 bus lines, 3,106 public buses and 3,680 cabs. 29.4% of residents¡¯ travels were made via public transportation. And the public bus network covered all towns, townships and villages across the city.

Public utilities continued to grow. Throughout 2016, the total local power consumption grew by 5.4% to 42.99 billion kWh, among which the household power consumption of urban and rural residents grew by 21.7% to 4.18 billion kWh. Besides, the city¡¯s annual water and gas supplies hit 310 million and 910 million cubic meters respectively. Meanwhile, 240 million cubic meters of sewage water were treated. The water supply coverage, gas supply coverage and sewage water treatment rate reached 100%, 100% and 96.3% respectively. The city¡¯s tap water deep processing techniques were further upgraded. The upgrading of natural gas pipelines was completed with 77.3 km of pipelines being either upgraded or built. Furthermore, the Qi Shuyan sewage water treatment plant (III phase) was finished and tested. The sewage water collection pipeline network across the city continued to improve and the sewage water treatment rate further rose up. Besides, infrastructure upgrading projects on rainwater-sewage diversion and sewage treatment in old neighborhoods were largely completed.

XIII. Ecology and Environmental Protection

The eco-city campaign continued. By end of 2016, the local tree coverage reached 25.9% with the city¡¯s green coverage hitting 43.1%. The per capita green land space rose to 14.5 m2. 9 green land projects like the Taojia Village Green Land project, Taoyuan Rd. Green Land project, South Hongmei Rd. Green Land project, and Meiran Dyeing Mill Waterfront Green Land project were completed. Plus, the Huang Liangbang Park project and Xiao Jiuhua Green Land project were advanced as well. The He Jiatang Eco-green Lane was completed and the green land at the crossroads of West Laodong Rd. and Qinye Rd. was basically finished. Several sections alongside the old Grand Canal were cleaned and upgraded. Moreover, Changzhou won the National Forest City title in 2016.

The local environment continued to improve. In 2016, 1,083 air pollution prevention and treatment projects and 475 water cleaning projects were completed. 2016 also witnessed the reduction of COD£¬ammonia nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, and oxynitride emissions by 3.93%, 4.28%, 7.95% and 5.02%.The year also saw 246 days of good air quality, which made the good air quality rate at 67.2%. The PM2.5 concentration in urban areas fell by 10.5% over 2015 and the number of heavily-polluted days dropped by 13 days. Water from drinking water sources remained 100% up to standard. The proportion of the above-class ¢ó water quality was 42.4%.

Note:

Unless otherwise said to be calculated at comparable prices, all figures in the communique were calculated at current prices.