The first session of the 16th Harbin Municipal People's Congress kicks off on April 13. [Photo/Harbin Daily]
 
The first session of the 16th Harbin Municipal People's Congress kicked off on April 13 in Harbin, capital of China's northernmost Heilongjiang. It reportedly outlined major progress and set forth ambitious plans.
 
Deputies in attendance examined the city's economic and social development in 2021 and approved plans for the current year.
 
Mayor Sun Zhe delivered a government work report, which was divided into three parts. It consisted of a review of work in the first year of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), the goals and requirements for economic and social development in the following five years, and the main government work tasks for the current year.
 
In 2021, Harbin's economic strength continued to increase, with an average annual growth rate of 4.2 percent in regional GDP and an average annual growth rate of 5.4 percent in general public budget revenue.
 
Harbin's industrial structure was optimized and a new "4+4" modern industrial system was established, with its industrial scale exceeding 600 billion yuan ($90.02 billion).
 
Last year, Harbin implemented a total of 747 key industrial projects, and the number of high-tech enterprises in the city increased to 1,751, an increase of 260 percent over 2020.
 
Meanwhile, Harbin was granted the honorable titles of National Water Ecological Civilization City and National Wetland City.
 
A total of 125.2 billion catties of grain were produced in the city last year, achieving a bumper harvest for the 18th year in a row.
 
Additionally, Harbin renovated or built 300 kilometers of road, and the average incomes of urban and rural residents increased by 5.2 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively.
 
According to an announcement at the conference, economic and social development plans for Harbin in 2022 are as follows:
 
Harbin's GDP is expected to increase by about 6 percent in the current year, and the growth of per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents should be higher than the overall GDP.
 
In the meantime, the report states that the quality of the business environment will continue to improve and that opening-up and rural revitalization will be further advanced.