This photo shows copies of the think tank report titled "New Era County Economics." The report was released on Friday by Xinhua Institute, a national-level think tank affiliated with Xinhua News Agency, at the Belt and Road Forum for International Think Tank Cooperation held in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua/Chen Yehua)

NANJING, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Drawing on vibrant practices across China's county-level administrative divisions, a think tank report released Friday expounds on their economic development and the theory of county economics for the new era.

The report, titled "New Era County Economics," was released by Xinhua Institute, a national-level think tank affiliated with Xinhua News Agency, at the Belt and Road Forum for International Think Tank Cooperation held in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

The document consists of five chapters, which elaborate the strategic importance of vigorously advancing county economies, the essence of New Era County Economics, as well as its vibrant practices, distinctive features and profound insights.

Today, counties in China encompass both urban and rural areas, serving as a pivotal hub that connects higher and lower administrative levels, coordinates different sectors, and links cities and countryside. They constitute a fundamental unit for both economic development and social governance in China, the report said.

New Era County Economics has evolved into a distinctive and relatively complete knowledge system based on the summary of China's practical experience in county-level economic development, the report noted, emphasizing urban-rural integration and city-led rural development, the cultivation of distinctive industrial clusters, and expanded decision-making autonomy at the county level to unleash grassroots reform vitality.

By cultivating and strengthening county economies across China, New Era County Economics transcends the unipolar thinking of traditional growth pole theory, creating a "distributed growth pole," a capillary-like network of economic dynamism, the report said, noting that this contributes to high-quality development and enduring social stability, constituting a historic transcendence of the Western "center-periphery" theoretical framework.

New Era County Economics is charting a new path that serves as a key to unlocking solutions for urban-rural integration, offering a Chinese model that balances efficiency and equity while blending tradition with innovation, contributing to a more balanced and sustainable development framework for countries in the Global South, the report said. ■

New Era County Economics

A guest reads the think tank report "New Era County Economics" during the Belt and Road Forum for International Think Tank Cooperation in Nanjing, east China's Jiangsu Province, Nov, 21, 2025. The report was released on Friday by Xinhua Institute, a national-level think tank affiliated with Xinhua News Agency, at the Belt and Road Forum for International Think Tank Cooperation held in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. (Xinhua/Ji Chunpeng)