According to statistics, Tai'an's GDP reached 159.24 billion yuan ($23.57 billion) from January to June, a year-on-year increase of 3.6 percent.

The added value of the primary, secondary, and tertiary industries was 21.21 billion yuan, 58.48 billion yuan, and 79.55 billion yuan in the first six months, respectively, with an increase of 5.4 percent, 5.1 percent, and 2.1 percent year-on-year.

In the first half of this year, the agricultural production of Tai'an remained stable. The city's agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery achieved a total output value of 39.26 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.0 percent.

During the same time period, the added value of Tai'an's industries increased by 8.6 percent year-on-year, ranking fifth in terms of growth rate in Shandong province. Of which, the total output value of the construction sector grew 8.6 percent, which ranked second in terms of growth rate in the province.

Statistics also indicate that during the first half of this year, Tai'an's added value of service industries increased 2.1 percent year-on-year, posting a steady recovery trend.

The investment, consumption and exports are the three main drivers of economic growth in Tai'an.

During the first half of this year, the city's fixed asset investment increased 14.7 percent and the growth rate ranked third in Shandong province.

In terms of consumption, Tai'an's total retail sales of consumer goods reached 54.84 billion yuan, an increase of 2.8 percent year-on-year, ranking first in Shandong province during the first half of this year.

During the same time period, Tai'an's total import and export volume was 15.77 billion yuan, increasing 42.6 percent year-on-year, which was 25.6 percentage points higher than the province's average. Of which, the export volume surged 69 percent to 13.24 billion yuan.

As of the end of June, 23,800 new jobs had been created in Tai'an, signifying the completion of 55.03 percent of the city's annual plan for this year.

In the first half of the year, Tai'an's consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1.1 percent year-on-year, and the prices of daily necessities and services, which included education, culture and entertainment, rose by 2.1 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.