On 22 April, Quzhou Municipal Bureau of Statistics released the city’s economic performance in the first quarter. According to the unified accounting results of regional gross domestic product (GDP), Quzhou’s GDP in the first quarter was 50.766 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 7.3% at constant prices. By industry, the added value of the primary industry was 1.328 billion yuan, up 4.1%; the added value of the secondary industry 20.682 billion yuan, up 8.1%; and the added value of the tertiary industry 28.756 billion yuan, up 6.9%. A number of data and the trends they reflect demonstrated many highlights in various fields.

The industrial economy played a powerful role as an engine, with Quzhou’s industrial added value of 14.277 billion yuan, up 11.8% year-on-year. 24 out of the 34 broad categories of industrial industries recorded positive growth in value added. Among the key industrial sectors, the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry grew by 99.3%. High-technology industries, high-end equipment manufacturing, digital economy core industry manufacturing and other emerging industries all witnessed growth.

As a part of economic growth troika, effective investment is accelerating. Quzhou’s fixed-asset investment grew by 11.3% year-on-year, accelerating by 2.0% from January to February. Among the key investment areas, investment in manufacturing grew by 35.0%, investment in ecological and environmental protection, transport, energy and water conservancy 30.5%, investment in new and high-tech industries 29.4%, and private investment 5.8%. It can be seen that investment in the key areas showed a strong momentum, and investments in people’s livelihoods to supplement the shortcomings of the board continue to increase. In terms of consumption, the market is still in a state of sustained recovery, with Quzhou’s total retail sales of consumer goods amounting to $21.312 billion yuan, an increase of 10.8% year-on-year. Among trade units above the quota, retail sales achieved through the public network increased by 119.0% year-on-year, and retail sales of commodities in the categories of daily necessities, communications equipment, household electrical appliances and audio-visual equipment, and new energy automobiles increased by 286.9%, 97.0%, 39.8% and 32.3% respectively.

Agricultural production was generally stable, with Quzhou’s total output value of agriculture, forestry, husbandry and fishery industry at 2.62 billion yuan, up 4.2% year-on-year.

The gap between urban and rural incomes is also narrowing. The per capita disposable income for urban residents was 19,940 yuan, up 6.4% year-on-year, while that of rural residents was 9,434 yuan, up 8.9%. The ratio of disposable income per capita for urban and rural residents was 2.11, narrowing by 0.05 compared with the same period of the previous year.

In addition, consumer price index (CPI) fell slightly year-on-year, down 0.2%. Among the prices of eight categories of goods and services, five of them rose and three fell year-on-year. Other supplies and services, education, culture and entertainment, daily necessities and services, clothing, health care rose, while food, tobacco and alcohol, transport and communications, residential categories have declined.