Jinan's GDP grows by 7.5 percent in Q1

The Jinan government announced at a press conference on April 29 that the city's economy saw steady growth and high quality development in the first quarter of 2019.

Jinan's GDP reached 233.9 billion yuan ($34.9 billion), an increase of 7.5 percent year-on-year. Its growth rate ranks first in the province.

The added value of industries above designated size increased by 7.5 percent, while fixed asset investment rose by 14 percent, ranking first in the province.

Total retail sales of consumer goods and general public budget grew by 8.9 percent and 10.3 percent respectively, ranking 3rd in the province.

Jinan is rapidly replacing traditional growth drivers with new ones, said Liu Qin, deputy director of the Jinan municipal publicity department at the press conference.

During the first quarter, the city's key industries developed at breakneck pace. The added value of electronic information, petrochemical, pharmaceutical manufacturing and automobile manufacturing sectors surged by 22.1 percent, 16.9 percent, 8.4 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively.

Several cutting-edge projects have been launched recently, including a smart robot project, Beidou navigation, and aerospace technology projects.

In addition, 249 projects began development recently with investments totaling 69.2 billion yuan.