As the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–25) concludes in 2025, Qingdao has made significant progress across all sectors.

The city's comprehensive strength increased, with its GDP surpassing five consecutive 100-billion-yuan ($14.36 billion) milestones at an average annual growth of 5.9 percent, ranking among the top sub-provincial cities. In 2025, its GDP is projected to exceed 1.7 trillion yuan.

Its per capita GDP now exceeds 160,000 yuan, reaching the level of a moderately developed economy. The number of enterprises increased by 23.2 percent to 852,000, and the permanent population grew to 10.5 million.

Industrial development also saw advances, with R&D spending growing 11.6 percent annually. The city added four national advanced manufacturing clusters and ranked sixth among China's top 100 manufacturing cities, while its marine economy remained the nation's third largest.

Over the past five years, the city has reformed and opened up significantly, with 272 national pilot reforms launched. Major platforms such as the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area and the Qingdao Area of the China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone increased their capacity. Foreign trade grew 7.3 percent annually, and utilized foreign investment reached $18.6 billion, accounting for 22.6 percent of Shandong's total.

The integration of urban and rural areas has sped up, with the permanent resident urbanization rate reaching 79 percent, an increase of 2.5 percentage points over the past five years.

Ecological conditions improved, with carbon emissions intensity dropping 15.9 percent and PM2.5 concentrations falling 22.6 percent over the five years.

Residents' well-being improved across the board: per capita disposable income grew around 6 percent annually, and average life expectancy increased from 81.5 to 82.2 years.

As the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–25) concludes in 2025, Qingdao makes significant progress across all sectors. [Photo/Guanhai News]