Zhejiang's GDP grows 7.1% in H1

HANGZHOU - East China's Zhejiang province recorded a GDP growth of 7.1 percent in the first half of the year, totaling about 2.83 trillion yuan ($411.4 billion), the provincial bureau of statistics said Monday.

The province's economic structure has continued to be optimized, said Wang Jie, director of the bureau.

The core industries of digital economy witnessed a growth of 11.6 percent in value-added in the first six months of the year. The value-added of the province's high-tech industry, advanced technology industry, equipment manufacturing industry, and strategic emerging industry recorded an increase of 11 percent, 6.7 percent, 6.3 percent and 9 percent respectively.

The traditional industry has been improved. Ten traditional manufacturing industries saw an increase of 7.9 percent year-on-year.

In the first half of the year, Zhejiang's total foreign trade volume, exports and imports increased by 5.7 percent, 6.6 percent and 3.3 percent respectively over the same period of last year. Its exports accounted for 13.2 percent of the country's total, up 0.1 percent year-on-year. Its exports to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative rose by 9.9 percent, accounting for 34.1 percent of the province's total exports.

Zhejiang province has also reduced the tax and fee burden on enterprises by 75.3 billion yuan to help these enterprises improve profitability.