Haining, part of the Hangzhou metropolitan circle. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The regional GDP of the Hangzhou metropolitan circle reached 3.2 trillion yuan ($486.53 billion) in 2019, a more than 60 percent increase from 2015, officials announced at a news conference in Haining, Jiaxing, on Nov 19.

In the first three quarters of this year, the regional GDP of the Hangzhou metropolitan circle recorded a year-on-year increase of 2.4 percent to hit 2.36 trillion yuan, 1.7 percentage points higher than the national average.

In the following five years, the metropolitan circle will focus on high-quality and integrated development and is aiming to grow into a metropolitan circle with international influence by 2035.

Haining, part of the Hangzhou metropolitan circle, introduced a total investment of 84.78 billion yuan from other cities, 26.73 percent of which came from Hangzhou. It has also established two incubators in the city over the past five years.

During the same period, six county-level hospitals in Haining have cooperated with nine first-class hospitals in Hangzhou. Haining Senior High School has also cooperated with two Hangzhou counterparts. Moreover, three universities in Hangzhou, including Zhejiang University, have established campuses in Haining.

The Hangzhou metropolitan circle was approved by the National Development and Innovation Committee in 2014. It was recognized as a national strategy two years later.

In addition to Hangzhou, the metropolitan circle includes five other surrounding cities: Huzhou, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Quzhou in Zhejiang province and Huangshan in Anhui province.