Since the reform and opening up, Xiantao’s economy has developed rapidly and its comprehensive strength has been significantly enhanced. In 1991, it ranked among the top 100 counties (cities) in the country. From 1992 to 2001, it was rated as the top county in the province in terms of comprehensive strength for 10 consecutive years. (city), became the first batch of well-off counties (cities) in the province in 1997.

Xiantao’s economic development has seized four major opportunities. The first time was to seize the opportunity of unprecedented release of rural productivity after the joint production contract system, and use "returning farmland to lakes and returning farmland to fishing" as a breakthrough to promote the internal structural adjustment of agriculture. The second time was in the mid-1980s. They seized the opportunity of a relatively loose financial environment and seized a large number of township industrial projects, making township enterprises suddenly emerge and become an important force in the national economy. The third time was after Comrade Xiaoping’s southern tour speech, Xiantao took the lead in implementing the strategy of “opening up and strengthening the city”, which significantly expanded the economic scale and development space. The fourth time was around General Secretary Jiang’s “May 29” speech and the 15th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. It focused on breaking the ideological shackles of “social” and “capital” surnames and “public” and “private” surnames, and boldly explored and promoted The public ownership form of productivity development has achieved new breakthroughs in deepening enterprise reform and developing the private economy. In recent years, Xiantao City has always insisted on taking the private economy as the mainstay, vigorously accelerating the process of industrialization, urbanization and industrialization, and the economic pattern has undergone profound changes:

Continuously optimizing the industrial economic structure has formed a light-based economy. main industrial system. The total output value of the four leading industries, including textiles and clothing, medical and sanitary materials and non-woven fabrics, pharmaceutical chemicals, and food processing, accounts for more than 80% of the city's total industrial output value. The pattern of "industrial light structure" has initially taken shape. The textile industry is led by Maiya Group, Yinfeng Group, Lianliang, Guangyi and Yubo companies, forming a scale of 200,000 advanced spindles and 100,000 worsteds, becoming an important high-end fabric production base in the country and the largest denim manufacturer in the country. Production site. Maiya Group was successfully listed in March 2000 and entered the "Top 512" directly dispatched by the state. The medical sanitary materials and non-woven fabrics industry, represented by a number of billion-yuan enterprises such as Qimei, Jinrenda Company, Asia-Pacific Friends, and Xinfa Plastics, are developing in the direction of enterprise and groupization, with an annual export delivery value of more than 500 million yuan. It is the largest processing and export base for medical and sanitary materials and non-woven fabrics in the country. The pharmaceutical and chemical industry is supported by several key enterprises such as Sibao Group, Xianguang Company, Xianlong Group, Kaiya Pharmaceutical, Shengtong Pharmaceutical, Nodesheng Pharmaceutical and Aike Capsules, driving the development of daily chemicals, medical chemicals, and agrochemicals. Comprehensive development. The food processing industry relies on the high breakthroughs of brand companies such as Taiwan Want Want, Fujian Qinqin, and Hong Kong Hongfa to become a new industry support.

——Vigorously adjust the agricultural industrial structure and form a characteristic agriculture focusing on aquatic products. The pattern of "fishing in the south and grazing in the north, melons and vegetables in the middle" has basically taken shape. The aquaculture industry has developed into a strategic industry and leading industry in the city's agriculture, and has been included in the provincial key aquatic sector construction projects. In 2002, the city's aquatic product area was 556,000 acres, and the total aquatic product volume was 200,000 tons, ranking first in the province and second in the country. The aquatic product output value was 890 million yuan, accounting for 36.4% of the total output value of rural animal husbandry and fishery. The animal husbandry industry has suddenly emerged. In 2002, the city produced 700,000 pigs, 5.848 million poultry, 42,200 tons of eggs, and 60,000 tons of livestock and poultry meat. Vegetable production has developed rapidly. The city has formed a 100,000-acre vegetable corridor focusing on the 318 National Highway. In 2002, the city's vegetable planting area was 545,600 acres, and 511,400 tons of vegetables were produced. It has become a "vegetable corridor" in cities and regions such as Wuhan, Three Gorges, and Jingzhou. vegetable garden".

——Adhere to the implementation of the export-oriented strategy, and the export-oriented economy has become an important support for the Xiantao economy. In 2002, among the industrial enterprises above designated size in the city, there were 187 export-oriented enterprises, accounting for 87.4%. Among them, there are 68 foreign-funded enterprises, 36 self-operated export enterprises, and 83 supply enterprises, forming a diversified pattern of three export entities, export products and export markets. Foreign trade exports have ranked first in the province's counties and cities for many years. In 2002, the city's foreign trade exports totaled US$44.19 million, an increase of 7.6% over the previous year, of which exports of non-woven products accounted for 40% of the national total, making it the largest processing and export base for non-woven products and medical and sanitary materials in the country. Maia successfully went abroad and established a joint venture blanket factory with the city of New Horizonte, Brazil. At present, Xiantao not only opens its industry to the outside world, but also enterprises, commerce, urban construction and other industries. The export-oriented economy has reached more than 30%. The export-oriented economy has become an important support for Xiantao's economic development, an important source of fiscal revenue and a source of social employment. important channels.

Main economic structure

With the deepening of economic structural adjustment, the city's main economic structure has become more reasonable, and a new medium-sized light industrial city is emerging on the Jianghan Plain. Among the three major industries, the secondary and tertiary industries have occupied a dominant position; in the relationship between agriculture, light and heavy industry, the proportion of agriculture has gradually declined, while the proportion of light and heavy industry has gradually increased, and the proportion of light industry is much higher than that of agriculture and heavy industry. In 2002, the proportion of primary, secondary and tertiary industries in the GDP was 21.8:41.4:35.8; in the added value of industries above designated size, the proportion of light and heavy industries was 75.6:24.4.

People's living standards

People's living standards have continued to improve, and they have entered a moderately prosperous life on the whole, and are moving towards a more affluent moderately prosperous life.

In 2002, the city's per capita net income in rural areas was 3,153 yuan, an increase of 2.27% over the previous year; the annual per capita disposable income of urban residents reached 5,820 yuan; the people's consumption structure has improved significantly, and their consumption levels have steadily increased. In 2002, the average annual salary of employees was 6,807 yuan, an increase of 4.72% over the previous year.