In 2023, the private economy in Qingdao, Shandong remained stable while showing signs of improvement. [Photo/WeChat account: opinionline]

In 2023, the private economy in Qingdao, Shandong remained stable while showing signs of improvement, consolidating a trend of high-quality development.

Data shows that in 2023, the city saw 283,000 newly-registered private market entities, an 8.8-percent year-on-year increase, accounting for 99.3 percent of the total newly-registered market entities in the city and ranking third among sub-provincial cities in the nation.

By the end of 2023, the city had a total of 2.1 million private market entities, a 4-percent year-on-year increase and representing 98.4 percent of the total market entities in the city. It was home to 780,000 private enterprises, growing by 5.3 percent year-on-year and accounting for 95.7 percent of the total number of enterprises in the city.

In 2023, the total import and export volume of private enterprises in the city reached 620.8 billion yuan ($86.23 billion), a 10.4-percent year-on-year increase, surpassing the national and provincial growth rates for private enterprise import and export by 4.1 and 6.5 percentage points, respectively.

The import and export volume of private enterprises accounted for 70.9 percent of the city's total foreign trade value, exceeding the national average for private enterprise import and export by 17.4 percentage points. The role of private enterprises as the main force in foreign trade is becoming increasingly prominent in Qingdao.

Last year, the private economy in the city created 317,000 new jobs, a 2.9-percent year-on-year increase and accounting for 86.1 percent of the city's urban new employment.