Beijing residents enjoy financial upswing

Investment continues to grow, as industrial sectors gain strength

Beijing's GDP surpassed 1.52 trillion yuan ($221 billion) in the first half of 2019, growing 6.3 percent year-on-year, local officials said.

"The city's economic development was steady with an upward momentum during the first half of this year," Pang Jiangqian, deputy head of the Beijing Bureau of Statistics, said at a news conference in mid-July.

From January to June, the output value of the primary and secondary industries was about 4.94 billion yuan and 257.26 billion yuan, respectively, climbing by 17.5 and 5 percent year-on-year.

The tertiary industry's output value stood at 1.26 trillion yuan during the same period, up 6.5 percent.

Of the three sectors, the tertiary industry has maintained stable performance thanks to the financial, information and tech-service businesses, Pang said.

Industries with comparative advantages, such as finance, information services and technological services, contributed 67 percent to the city's economic growth.

The output value of the financial industry reached 293.47 billion yuan, increasing by 9.1 percent.

The output value of the information transmission, software and information technology sectors hit 181.18 billion yuan, an increase of 13.7 percent.

The industry of scientific research and technological services generated 177.25 billion yuan in its output value during the first six months, increasing 8.4 percent.

Investment in the city has maintained rapid growth, Pang said. She added that sectors aligned with the capital's industrial plan have gained momentum.

During the six months, the fixed assets of the city upped 14.7 percent year-on-year.

Investment in culture, sports and entertainment surged by 95.1 percent. Scientific research and technological service sectors saw a 93.8 percent jump in funding.

Companies in the city have continued to increase investment in innovation, playing a crucial role in driving the economic growth, Pang said.

From January to May, the research and development expenditure of high-tech companies in Zhongguancun, a tech-driven business hub in the capital, increased by 17.9 percent year-on-year.

Their R&D spending paid off, with science and technology revenue increasing by 21.1 percent in the five months. It contributed 25.9 percent to the growth of the city's total income during the period.

In the first half of 2019, the nominal growth rate of per capita disposable income of Beijing residents was 8.9 percent. The actual increase was 6.9 percent after taking inflation into account. This was 0.6 of a percentage point higher than the economy's growth rate, according to Bian Jing, deputy head of the Survey Office of the National Bureau of Statistics in Beijing.

The increase in local residents' income was due to increased support in the city's policies, social insurance and business environment, Bian said.

"The wage income is the main source and strong support of disposable income - it contributed 62.5 percent to the increase in the disposable income," he said.

With the rise in their income, residents tend to spend on services and online shopping, Bian said.

In the first half of the year, the per capita service consumption expenditure of Beijing residents increased by 9.8 percent year-on-year.

"At present, consumption is a major driving force behind the economic growth and has become more and more important in economic development," Pang said.

Beijing achieved a total market consumption of 1.3 trillion yuan from January to June, an increase of 8.2 percent over the same period last year. The consumption in the service sector amounted to 728.25 billion yuan, contributing 70.4 percent of the total consumption growth.

"Beijing's development is dominated by the service-oriented and consumption-driven economy," Pang said. She added that the feature will remain as a "stabilizer" to ensure a stable growth of the local economy.

The capital's economic development will continue to maintain the stable and high-quality growth in the second half of this year, she forecast.

liangkaiyan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/26/2019 page7)