Located in the heart of the Northeast Asian economic circle, Tonghua faces the Democratic People's Republic of Korea across the Yalu River. It is an open border city and a trade and logistics center, as well as a regional transportation hub in Northeast China.

The city boasts an active private economy and has three pillar industries -- medicine, food and tourism -- as well as the three other major industries of metallurgy, building materials and equipment manufacturing.

There are more than 80 pharmaceutical companies above designated size in the city -- those with annual revenue of 20 million yuan ($2.8 million) or more.

The Shougang Tonggang Limited Company is the largest steel company in Jilin province, while Tonghua wine has a history of nearly 100 years and was the only official wine for the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China. It has also seen rapid development of new material industries such as basalt fiber, graphene and fullerene.

The city also encourages innovation and was rated as one of the top 100 cities in the country for its innovative abilities. It has also been rated as an intellectual property pilot city, a smart city pilot city, as well as an outstanding city for green development.

In 2018, the city's regional GDP increased by 3.4 percent on the previous year and the fixed asset investment increased by 7.8 percent.

Officials said the city advocates sincerity, tolerance, responsibility, business development and self-improvement and will transform itself into a new industrial base and livable landscape city in Northeast China.

Source: China Daily