Qingdao's GDP surpasses 797.87 billion yuan in the first half of the year. [Photo/WeChat account: qd12301]

On July 24, the municipal bureau of statistics in Qingdao released the city's GDP for the first half of the year, which reached 797.87 billion yuan ($109.87 billion), representing 5.8 percent year-on-year growth.

In the first half of the year, the added value of industrial enterprises above a designated size in Qingdao increased by 9.8 percent year-on-year. The city's total fixed asset investment increased by 5.3 percent year-on-year during the period. Investments in high-tech industries increased by 91.1 percent year-on-year, accounting for 10.9 percentage points of the city's investment growth rate, while investments in strategic emerging industries and industrial technological transformations increased by 13 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively.

During the January to June period, Qingdao saw total retail sales of consumer goods reaching 292.55 billion yuan, marking a 5.6 percent year-on-year increase.

In the first half of the year, the city's foreign trade volume also experienced slight growth, rising by 1.8 percent year-on-year to 437.83 billion yuan. Qingdao's trade structure improved with general trade imports and exports totaling 291.83 billion yuan - a 6.7 percent year-on-year increase - accounting for 66.7 percent of the city's total import and export value. Additionally, the total import and export value of foreign-invested enterprises in the city was 84.65 billion yuan, reflecting 10 percent a year-on-year increase.