A report provided at the First Session of the 16th Wuxi Municipal People's Congress outlined the economic future of the city. GDP is set to rise by 7-7.5 percent, the revenue of the general public's budget will increase by 5 percent, fixed asset investment will increase by 5 percent, and total retail sales of consumer goods will grow by 10 percent in 2017.

The First Session of the 16th Wuxi Municipal People's Congress takes a stand in the city of Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on Feb 14. [Photo by Lu Yi]

The session convened on Feb 14 with 444 Wuxi People's Congress members in attendance to propose suggestions and outline the blueprint of the city. Attendees also voted in the elections of new municipal government officials.

The city's mayor, Wang Quan, delivered a work report reviewing the past five years. On behalf of the Wuxi Municipal People's Government, he projected the course that will be taken by the city in the next five years and made work arrangements for 2017.

Wang Quan, the mayor of Wuxi city, delivers the government work report at the First Session of the 16th Wuxi Municipal People's Congress convened in the city of Wuxi, Jiangsu province, on Feb 14. [Photo by Zhang Liwei]

The city of Wuxi has been focused upon further developing its industry sectors involved in technology and innovation and reaped outstanding accomplishments in its 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), according to the report.

Concerning its future development goals, Wang said the city expects its regional GDP and per capita income of all residents to double from 2010 by the end of 2020. He also stated that the output value of the city's hi-tech industry accounts for 46 percent of industries, the value-added amount of service sector makes up 55 percent of the regional GDP, and the energy saving and emission reduction indicators will meet the requirements on both a national and regional level.

The mayor said the government will work on developing eight aspects to ensure its New Year targets; develop the modern industry system and boost modern agriculture, strengthen technology innovation and lead the country in the development of Internet of Things, push for improvements in the livelihood of citizens, properly execute overall reforms, promote an open economy, allow foreign investment to flourish, maintain coordination between between urban and rural areas, promote the importance of environment protection, and build a service-oriented government supported by the people.