Pingtan achieves stable economic growth in H1

Pingtan's GDP (gross domestic product) increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year to reach 9.745 billion yuan ($1.426 billion) in the first half of 2018, local media reported recently, citing the statistics from local authorities.

 The robust growth of the city's tertiary industry contributed primarily to its stable economic development in the past six months. Data from Pingtan's bureau of statistics shows that the added-value of the tertiary industry in Pingtan reached 5.858 billion yuan over the period, an increase of 12.1 percent year-on-year.

Moreover, total retail sales saw significant growth during the period, fueling the vitality of the local economy. Its total retail sales stood at 3.039 billion yuan, up 14.6 percent year-year-year. The growth rate is 9.7 percent faster than the same period last year, placing it first in this respect among the cities in Fujian province.

As the closest neighbor on the Chinese mainland of Taiwan, Pingtan saw closer trade links with Taiwan in the first half of the year, with its exports and imports to the island surging by 74.9 percent to 814 million yuan.

Notably, over the period, shipping logistics in Pingtan also showed accelerated growth thanks to the local government's efforts in developing the industry. The output in the sector grew by 26.2 percent year-on-year to 1.934 billion yuan, accounting for 4.8 percent of the GDP growth in the city.