Qingdao boasts a vibrant economy. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The eastern coastal city of Qingdao in Shandong province registered a rapid expansion in its private economy in the first half of 2023, said local officials.

Private companies are pioneers in spurring economic growth and innovative development. They contributed about 50 percent of China's tax revenue, 60 percent of its GDP, 70 percent of all technological innovations, and 80 percent of the country's urban employment, said the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

According to official statistics, in the Jan-June period, there were 2.06 million private market entities in Qingdao, an increase of 4.6 percent year-on-year. The city's private investment grew by 3.9 percent, which is 4.1 percentage points higher than the national growth rate.

During this period, the foreign trade volume of Qingdao's private enterprises grew by 17.7 percent to reach 308.57 billion yuan ($42.92 billion), accounting for 71.7 percent of the city's total foreign trade value.

The city's private sector created 148,000 new jobs and continued to play its role as the main channel for employment.

To date, the number of private high-tech enterprises in Qingdao has reached 5,972, an increase of 21.9 percent and accounting for 89.4 percent of the total number of high-tech enterprises in the city.

Qingdao is also home to 151 "little giant" firms and 6,738 small and medium-size enterprises that specialize in niche sectors, command a high market share, and have strong innovation capacities and core technologies.

The city will provide greater support to promote the high-quality development of small and medium-sized enterprises this year, said local officials.