By putting the people at the center and making their aspirations for a better life the goal, Qingdao is improving residents' well-being and making solid progress in the construction of a modern international metropolis under socialism with Chinese characteristics.

At the recent Happy Cities of China Forum 2023 in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Qingdao was hailed for having one of the country's highest happiness ratings for four consecutive years.

In the first three quarters, the city achieved a GDP of about 1.18 trillion yuan ($164.8 billion), a year-on-year increase of 6 percent. Its public budget revenue reached 101.88 billion yuan, up 6.1 percent year-on-year, and from January to October, the added value of industries above designated scale increased by 5.9 percent year-on-year while sales of wholesale and retail industries in the city surged by 13.8 percent and 11.4 percent, respectively. During the same period, Qingdao's fixed asset investment grew by 4.6 percent year-on-year, and its total import and export value reached 733.53 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7 percent.

Robust growth is taking place in Qingdao's 39 industrial categories, as well as in household appliances, rail transport equipment and automobiles. As a window to China's high-level opening-up, the city is home to the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area, the China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, key national platforms, 29 universities, 67 provincial-level or above laboratories, 6,680 high-tech enterprises and 84 listed companies. It has also launched a platform called Qingsujiban to resolve public concerns, and as of mid-November, 93.47 percent of them have been resolved at the district and city levels.

In the months ahead, Qingdao plans to complete construction of 1,342 urban renewal projects. By the end of October, 1,284 projects were started, with an annual construction commencement rate of 95.7 percent. A total of 428 projects have been completed.

Qingdao is also making efforts to expand the availability of quality education and medical resources. Since 2022, 176 new, renovated, or expanded primary and secondary schools and kindergartens have been built, and 94 newly established schools have achieved high-quality education. There are 214 medical and health institutions in the city, including secondary-level or above public medical institutions, town-level or street-level health clinics and community health service centers.

Overseas students experience Chinese culture with local residents in Qingdao's Licang district. ZHANG YING/FOR CHINA DAILY