GDP of Shanghai shows resilience

Despite the complexity of the global and domestic environment, Shanghai's GDP in the first nine months stood at 3.1 trillion yuan ($428 billion), reflecting the local economy's resilience and vitality, experts and officials said on Thursday.

The January-to-September GDP was down 1.4 percent year-on-year, said Ruan Qing, deputy director of the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission.

Ma Haiqian, vice-president of the Shanghai Academy of Development and Reform, said the third quarter's better-than-expected performance helped retrieve the lost ground of the first half, as the second quarter was hit hard by COVID-19 outbreaks, which dragged down economic growth to a negative reading.

"The city's pillar sectors of industry, finance and trade, as well as its emerging industries, have played an important role in the economic recovery," Ma said.

In the third quarter, industrial added value of enterprises with annual revenue of 20 million yuan or above each grew 14.9 percent year-on-year, elevating the index of the first three quarters to — 2.2 percent from — 11.3 percent in the first half, Ruan said.

The data showed Shanghai's economy has entered a phase of stabilization, indicating confidence of market entities has been rapidly restored, and a number of stimulative measures introduced earlier this year are taking effect, said Quan Heng, Party secretary of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.

"More importantly, given the resilience of the city's economy, the constantly improving business confidence and the economy-stabilizing measures of the central and local governments, we are optimistic that the fourth quarter will be more inspiring," Quan said.