Wuxi National Hi-tech District. [Photo/wndonline.cn]

The first session of the 17th Wuxi Municipal People's Congress commenced on March 16 at the Wuxi Great Hall of the People, local media outlets reported.

Lawmakers from all walks of life listened to the government work report delivered by the city's acting mayor, which focused on major government work in 2021 and the current government leadership, goals and overall requirements for the next five years, and major tasks to be carried out in 2022.

According to the government work report, in 2021, the GDP of Wuxi National Hi-tech District exceeded 227.1 billion yuan ($35.72 billion), with its growth rate ranking first in Wuxi.

In 2021, WND's general public budget revenue exceeded 24 billion yuan, accounting for more than 10 percent of GDP, while its growth rate ranked first among the six development zones in southern Jiangsu, its total industrial output value over designated size exceeded 550 billion yuan, and its added value ranked first in Wuxi.

In 2021, WND's actual utilized foreign capital stood at $1.33 billion, ranking first in Wuxi and hitting a new high in recent years. Over 23,000 people gained employment in urban area of WND.

WND continued to promote the development of modern industries such as biomedicine and integrated circuits. A total of 145 projects with investment exceeding 100 million yuan were introduced to the district in 2021.

Science and technological innovation and an open-type economy were also key working tasks in WND in 2021.

In 2021, WND saw expenditure on people's livelihood in areas such as education, medical care and infrastructure construction reach 10.43 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.3 percent.