Merchants packaging a wide range of down clothing products for online and offline orders in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province, Nov 24, 2024. [Photo/VCG]

By the end of 2024, Jiaxing had nearly 800,000 market entities, a 4.4 percent increase from the previous year.

Among them, private businesses accounted for more than 96 percent, solidifying their role as the backbone of the city's economy.

Jiaxing's GDP reached 756.95 billion yuan ($104.13 billion) in 2024, growing 5.6 percent year-on-year. The private sector played a key role across industries.

The city's 5,795 industrial enterprises above the designated size contributed 185.57 billion yuan in added value, up 6.5 percent. Meanwhile, 2,476 major wholesale and retail companies recorded total sales of 593.99 billion yuan, a surge of 23.2 percent.

Among the city's 250,000 private enterprises, 65 have successfully gone public, and seven are ranked among China's top 500 private enterprises. Jiaxing also made a strong presence in the 2024 Hurun China 500, with five local firms securing a place, putting the city 16th nationwide.

To further support private enterprises, Jiaxing has pledged to implement 32 targeted policies in 2025, aiming to reduce business costs by more than 23 billion yuan and foster a stronger environment for growth.