Steady recovery as Shanghai GDP rises 9.7% in H1

Shanghai's economy continued its recovery in the first half of the year, with the city's GDP reaching 2.139 trillion yuan (US$297.93 billion), an increase of 9.7 percent year on year at comparable prices.

Among them, the local primary industry expanded 1.5 percent year on year, while the second and tertiary industries both grew strongly, by 15.1 percent and 8.2 percent, respectively, according to data released by the Shanghai Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

In the first half, the city's value-added industrial output of enterprises above designated size increased by 14.2 percent from a year earlier, while the overall industrial production of these enterprises rose 11.8 percent to approximate 1.88 trillion yuan.

Data indicated that new momentum for development is being cultivated in the city, as in the industrial sector, new industries and products are showing robust growth.

The total output value of Shanghai's strategic emerging industries in the industrial sector increased by 14.6 percent year on year in the first six months, which was 2.8 percentage points faster than that of the overall industrial production. The output value of new energy vehicles, new energy, and high-end equipment increased by 69.8 percent, 57.8 percent, and 33.1 percent, respectively.

New drivers

In terms of output, the growth in new products such as semiconductor storage disks, new-energy vehicles, and 3D printing equipment were 1.8 times, 65.7 percent, and 37.3 percent, respectively.

The digital economy is also developing steadily. In the first half of the year, the added value of the city's information transmission, software, and information technology service sector rose 10.7 percent on an annual basis. And the operating income of this sector in January-May jumped 18.4 percent on year.

Among them, under the favorable factors of the continuous development of some e-commerce and takeaway platforms, the Internet and related services industries and the software and information technology service industry both saw strong gains in operating income.

It also highlighted that the contact-intensive service sector's significant rebound, with the accommodation and catering industry, the transportation, warehousing and postal services sector, and leasing and business services all surging in terms of value-added output, by 41.8 percent, 13.3 percent, and 12.1 percent, respectively.

The recovery of internal demand was also steady, the bureau said. Shanghai's total retail sales of consumer goods rose 23.5 percent year on year in the first half, while the operating income of accommodation and catering enterprises soared 60.8 percent and 56.6 percent, separately.

Fixed asset investment, meanwhile, grew 37.2 percent, with investment in information transmission, software, and information technology services jumping 58.4 percent while investment in scientific research and technical services witnessed a sharp 85.6 percent jump.

The city also saw improvements in people's livelihoods, with the prices of goods and employment remaining stable in general. The average unemployment rate in urban areas in the first six months was 4.8 percent, which was 0.1 percentage points lower compared with the first quarter. While the per-capita disposable income of local residents rose 9.9 percent annually to 42,870 yuan.

Despite the steady recovery, the foundation of Shanghai's sustained recovery and development is not yet solid amid the complex global political and economic situation, the bureau pointed out.

The focus now is on releasing domestic demand potential, and deepening reform, opening up, and innovation, to promote the economy to achieve effective development in quality and reasonable increase in quantity.