Xinjiang's GDP down merely 0.2% in Q1

URUMQI  -- The gross domestic product (GDP) of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region totaled 305.55 billion yuan (about $88.4 billion) in the first quarter of this year, down merely 0.2 percent year-on-year, according to the regional bureau of statistics.

Analysts of the bureau believed that, although the novel coronavirus epidemic has had a great impact on traditional consumption and industries since the beginning of this year, new forms of economic activity such as online consumption and intelligent economy had risen during the first quarter.

From January to March, the overall online retail sales of Xinjiang's enterprises through third-party e-commerce platforms totaled 4.44 billion yuan, up 4.1 percent year-on-year.

The region's online game service industry between January and February achieved a revenue of 221 million yuan, a year-on-year growth of 5.5 times, and the operating revenue of science and technology promotion and application services above designated size reached 493 million yuan during the period, up 23.6 percent year-on-year.

In the first quarter, the added value of Xinjiang's primary industry and the tertiary industry totaled 11.02 billion yuan and 184.61 billion yuan, down 1.3 percent and 0.4 percent year-on-year, respectively; while the added value of the secondary industry was 109.92 billion yuan, up 0.2 percent year-on-year.