Stellar performance from tertiary sector energizes Beijing's economy

Beijing has seen steady economic growth in the first half of this year, with major contributions from the tertiary sector's robust growth and upgrades to traditional industries, although there are some uncertainties in international trade relations.

Data from the municipal statistics bureau show that Beijing's GDP achieved 1,405.12 billion yuan ($209.17 billion) in the first half of 2018, up 6.8 percent year-on-year, which is the same with China's GDP growth rate in the first six months.

The growth rate is 0.1 percentage point higher than the first quarter, highlighting an outstanding economic performance during the second quarter when the country saw a slowing of the GDP growth rate at 6.7 percent.

"Emerging industries like high-tech enjoy an increasingly important role in driving Beijing's economic growth in the first half of the year," said Pang Jiangqian, deputy head of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics, at a news conference on Wednesday.

Pang explained that the added value of Beijing's strategic emerging industries has increased by 17.1 percent in the first six months, and added value of industries related to high technology rose by 15.1 percent, much higher than the city's GDP growth rate at 6.8.

The overall tertiary sector in Beijing saw added value increasing by 7.2 percent year-on-year during the first six months.

Pang added that the upgrade of traditional industries like high-end manufacturing has played an important part.

The added value of manufacturing related to high-tech rose by 17.1 percent in the first half of this year, which is 8.8 percentage points higher than the average added value of industrial companies that saw their annual revenue surpass the 20 million yuan mark.

Among those, the added value of manufacturing of digital and communication devices increased by 20.4 percent.

An official from the National Bureau of Statistics who was unwilling to disclose personal information said that high-tech and high-end manufacturing development contributed to the robust economic performance in the second quarter.

"The added value of the new economy accounts for one third of the city's total GDP," said Pang. "It is proving to be a strong momentum for Beijing's economic growth."

Beijing also saw enhanced performance in companies' research and development efforts, which are key to high-tech and high-end manufacturing development.

Pang said that from January to May, Beijing-based medium and large-sized businesses saw their research and development investment increase by 9.1 percent year-on-year, and produced an average of 234.7 patents for every 100 million yuan spent, or 20.3 patents more compared with last year.

Scientific research and tech services have attained an added value of 164.05 billion yuan, up 7.8 percent. Information transmission, software and information technology services reached a combined added value of 163.04 billion yuan, up 18.3 percent.

Beijing's fast growing high-tech industry has also facilitated the development of incubation platforms and industrial parks.

For instance, Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (BDA), located in southeastern Beijing, is growing to be the city's new tech center, aside from the traditional one in Zhongguancun.

BDA is currently home to China's top research centers in areas like pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, and is eyeing global research programs and overseas markets.

Going forward, BDA is targeting total output of 600 billion yuan for industrial companies that each expects annual revenue to surpass 20 million yuan mark by 2020.

Zhao Xuezhu contributed to this story.