Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shandong's resilient economy has started off on the right foot in the first quarter of 2022 with expanded demand and enhanced market vitality, local officials said at a recent news conference.

An employee works on the production line at a local automaker's warehouse in Qingzhou, Shandong province. [Photo by Wang Jilin/For China Daily]

According to official statistics, the province's GDP in the first quarter of this year reached 1.99 trillion yuan ($309.06 billion), with a year-on-year growth of 5.2 percent that was calculated at constant prices, which is faster than the national average.

In the first three months of this year, Shandong coordinated epidemic prevention and control and social and economic development in a solid and efficient manner, which strongly supported stable social and economic operation, Shandong officials said.

During this period, the added value of its primary industry stood at 73.71 billion yuan, up 5.9 percent year-on-year. The added value of the secondary industry was 790.96 billion yuan, up 4.8 percent. The added value of the tertiary industry was 1.13 trillion yuan, up 5.4 percent.

The province's industrial economy maintained a good momentum of steady growth, as the added value of industries above designated size increased by 5.9 percent year-on-year in the first quarter.

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 agricultural production remained stable, with adequate supplies of agricultural and animal husbandry products. Agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery output totaled 139.99 billion yuan in the first quarter, up 6.7 percent year-on-year.

Furthermore, the service sector's recovery has accelerated, providing significant support for the stable operation of Shandong's social economy. 

The province's service industry maintained its high-speed growth trend in January and February this year, with operating revenue increasing by 28.2 percent, 16.5 percentage points more than the average growth rate over the previous five years.