GDP slower but better

Beijing's gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate was slower than the rest of the country in the first half of this year. But this should not be seen as a sign of an economic slowdown, rather as a positive result following its efforts to break away from the past GDP-preoccupied economic development model and its determination to promote economic restructuring.

In the first two quarters of this year, Beijing's GDP grew 8 percent year-on-year, the lowest rate among the 18 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities that have published their economic data for the same period. The 8 percent growth also means the capital is the only region with a growth rate below the country's 9.6 percent average. Tianjin, a neighboring municipality, achieved a growth rate of 16.60 percent during the same period.

Beijing's energy consumption per unit of GDP value has also considerably declined. In the first quarter, the volumes of energy consumed for every 10,000 yuan ($1,551) of GDP in the capital declined 8.4 percent from 2010 and, from January to May, the energy consumption for every 10,000 yuan of industrial value added declined 19.6 percent from the previous year.