Jilin sees generally smooth economic performance in Q1

Northeast China's Jilin province experienced a generally smooth economic performance in the first quarter of the year, with some key economic data declining due to the novel coronavirus epidemic being balanced by several positive factors, local reports said.

According to preliminary calculations, the province achieved GDP of 244.18 billion yuan ($34.53 billion) in the first three months, a year-on-year decrease of 6.6 percent in comparable prices, although 0.2 percentage points higher than the national average.

The value added in the primary industry in Q1 was 22.37 billion yuan, a decline of 6.6 percent, the value added in the second industry was 71.66 billion yuan, a decline of 13.2 percent, while the value added in the tertiary industry was 150.16 billion yuan, a lesser decline of 3.1 percent.

The agricultural sector saw a slight decrease, with the total output value of the agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery industries declining 3.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter.

In addition, the added value of manufacturers above a designated size -- those with annual revenue of 20 million yuan or more -- saw a year-on-year decrease of 12.2 percent.

Against these declines, however, officials said that daily necessities and online sales saw growth in the first sector, especially the online sales sector.

They said that online retail sales increased 35.1 percent year-on-year in March alone.

Investment in fixed assets was better than the national average in Q1. During the period, the province's fixed asset investment (excluding farmers) decreased by 8.2 percent year-on-year, 7.9 percentage points above the national average.

The growth rate of total imports and exports turned positive during the period.

According to statistics from Changchun Customs, in the first quarter, the province's imports and exports totaled 30.07 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 0.1 percent -- an increase of 2.5 percentage points higher than that of January to February, and 6.5 percentage points higher than the national average.

Officials said that the province would accelerate its economic growth moving forwards and promote poverty alleviation as well.