Jining in East China's Shandong province has seen its economy remain on an upward trend with an optimized structure during the first quarter.

The city's GDP in the first three months of the year totaled 106.6 billion yuan ($16.44 billion), up 17.7 percent year-on-year. The added value of the tertiary industry over the same period stood at 60.2 billion yuan and increased by 20.3 percent year-on-year, the highest among the three major types of industries.

The agricultural production in Jining has sustained its momentum in the first quarter of the year, with the gross output value hitting 100.6 billion yuan.

The added value of industries above designated size from January to March has increased by 21.8 percent year-on-year, with an annual growth rate of 6 percent compared to 2019. The figure of the manufacturing industry has risen by 38.5 percent, while that of the mining industry has declined by 4.7 percent.

The services sector has generated 6.46 billion yuan in revenue in January and February, with a year-on-year growth of 44.9 percent, which has greatly bolstered the confidence of companies involved in the industry.

The fixed asset investment in the first quarter of the year has increased by 19 percent year-on-year. The growth rate of such investment in the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries was 17.8 percent, 27.5 percent, and 14.6 percent.

The city's imports and exports during the same period have realized a year-on-year growth of 22.3 percent to 12.44 billion yuan. The foreign investment in actual use in Jining reached $260 million, up 600.3 percent year-on-year.

The total retail sales of consumer goods in the city reached 65.2 billion yuan, up 33.6 percent year-on-year.

The city's general public budget expenditure was 17.6 billion yuan, an 8.2 percent increase compared to last year.

Jining will continue to improve its business environment as well as explore innovative ways to bring in more businesses and talent, said Li Changhua, deputy director of the city's bureau of statistics.