Zibo is on the up and up. The city is coordinating its epidemic prevention and controls with social and economic development in a solid and efficient manner, strongly supporting its stable social and economic operations. [Photo/VCG]
Waving aside the COVID-19 pandemic, the resilient economy of Zibo city – located in East China's Shandong province – started off on the right foot in the first quarter of 2022 with a surge in demand and robust markets, local media reported on April 28.
According to official statistics, the city's GDP in Q1 hit 103.9 billion yuan ($15.7 billion), up 5.6 percent on the previous corresponding period calculated at constant prices.
During the three months, the added value of the local primary industry stood at 2.54 billion yuan, up 5.1 percent year-on-year. The added value of the secondary industry came in at 51.18 billion yuan, up 5.6 percent, while the added value of the tertiary industry was 50.18 billion yuan, up 5.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the city's industrial economy maintained solid momentum in growth. The added value of industries above a designated size – industrial enterprises with annual main business revenue of 20 million yuan or more – increased by 7.6 percent year-on-year in Q1, which was 1.7 and 1.1 percentage points higher, respectively, than that of the province and the country.
The city's agricultural production remained stable, with adequate supplies of agricultural and animal husbandry products. Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery output totaled 4.35 billion yuan in the first quarter, up 6.7 percent.
Furthermore, the service sector's recovery accelerated, providing significant support for the stable operations of Zibo's social economy.
The city's service industry maintained its high-speed growth trend in January and February, with the operating revenue of service businesses above a designated size increasing by 41.7 percent – 13.5 percentage points more than the average growth rate of the province – ranking it second in Shandong.
