Siming district in the coastal city of Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, has experienced high-quality development since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, with its GDP rising from 88.78 billion yuan ($13.32 billion) in 2012 to 225.8 billion yuan in 2021, an increase of 7.1 percent, according to statistics released by the district's top official at a news conference held in Siming on May 31.

From 2012 to 2021, general public budget revenue increased from 13.3 billion yuan to 42.74 billion yuan, marking an average annual increase of 13.85 percent, and ranked first in Fujian for six consecutive years. The per capita disposable income of urban residents increased from 39,700 yuan in 2012 to 81,200 yuan in 2021, reaching the level of moderately developed countries.

In the past 10 years, Siming has focused on improving people's livelihoods, and more than 70 percent of its fiscal expenditures were used to strengthen people's well-being, and unfailingly meet the basic living needs of society.

The district has also made continuous efforts to improve the quality of education, healthcare, and culture sectors, ensuring that the gains of reform and development benefit the public in a fair way.

The district has explored new ways in grassroots social governance, and put in place an open and information-based grassroots system to provide a management model and better services for everyone. Efforts have also been made to develop a market- and law-based business environment, and e-government has been promoted to ensure access to all government services through a single portal. Moreover, online and one-stop services have been provided for over 98 percent of the items requiring provincial administrative licensing.

The land area for urban public facilities has also been increased in the past decade, and ecological construction has achieved remarkable results. The rate of good air quality has remained above 99 percent for five years in a row, and the district's green coverage ratio has reached 52.11 percent.

Local authorities said at the news conference that in the coming years, Siming will speed up its pace in developing into a civilized city, and actively promote the protection and utilization of cultural relics and the protection and inheritance of cultural heritages, such as Gulangyu Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The local government plans to explore innovative ways to advance high-quality and integrated development across the Taiwan Straits, and efforts will be made to promote the development of the city's competitive industries including software and information technology service industry.

Siming district in the coastal city of Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, holds a news conference on May 31 to introduce the district's social and economic achievements during the past decade. [Photo/Xiamen News]

Siming enjoys a beautiful and comfortable?living environment. [Photo/Xiamen News]

Siming records increasing land area for urban public facilities and remarkable ecological construction results from 2012 to 2021. [Photo/Xiamen News]