Cargo is loaded and unloaded at the Qianwan container terminal in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, on Jan 14, 2022. [Photo by Yu Fangping/for China Daily]

Shandong's economy has continued to secure solid growth momentum, according to economic data of the first two months of this year which was recently released by the Shandong Provincial Bureau of Statistics.

From January to February, Shandong's industrial production was better than expected, with the added value of industries above designated size increasing by 6 percent year-on-year, 0.5 percentage points higher than the average growth rate of the previous five years. Out of 41 industrial categories, 35 saw growth in added value in the province.

The province's fixed asset investment has continued its growth trend since last year, with a year-on-year growth rate of 11.6 percent, reaching the highest level since 2016.

During this period, the total retail sales of consumer goods in the province reached 537.76 billion yuan ($84.48 billion), up 7.9 percent. The total import and export volume of Shandong reached 447.55 billion yuan, up 14.5 percent year-on-year.

Employment remained stable. From January to February, 127,000 new urban jobs were created, up 28 percent year-on-year.

Consumer goods are in ample supply. The added value of consumer goods companies above designated size increased by 9.8 percent, 3.8 percentage points higher than that of industries above designated size.

The province has made new progress in high-quality development. During the first two months of this year, Shandong accelerated the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. There were 4,485 industrial technological upgrading projects, up 21.9 percent year-on-year.

The added value of high-tech manufacturing increased by 16.4 percent, 10.4 percentage points higher than that of industries above designated size.

Investment in the "Four New Economy" (new technology, new business pattern, new development mode, and new industry) increased by 25.1 percent, accounting for 47.7 percent of total investment.