Beijing's GDP up 5% to $609b

Beijing's 2023 gross domestic product reached 4.38 trillion yuan ($609 billion), up more than 5 percent, the city government said on Friday.

The national capital's services sector remained stable with its added value growing more than 6 percent, making it the primary driver of the city's economic recovery, said Zhu Yannan, deputy head of the city's statistics bureau.

The combined contribution of key segments of the services sector, including information transmission, software, information technology services and financial services, to economic growth exceeded 70 percent, the bureau said.

Labor-intensive sectors like transportation, warehousing, postal, accommodation, restaurants, culture, sports and entertainment have also grown in 2023, indicating a noticeable recovery, said Zhu.

Beijing's policies across various sectors have been geared to unleash vitality, she said.

In 2023, nearly 300,000 new enterprises were established in Beijing, exceeding the average level of the past three years.

Beijing's municipal government continued to accelerate local development to establish the city as an international consumer center. It has also sustained initiatives to stimulate consumption.

The municipal government's implementation of subsidies for new energy vehicles or NEVs resulted in a nearly 40 percent increase in NEV retail sales in 2023.

Additionally, leisure agriculture and rural tourism in Beijing experienced growth in both visitor numbers (up nearly 24 percent) and income (up nearly 13 percent). More residents spent money on tourism in Beijing's rural areas as the local government organized special events and activities to attract visitors.

The city's digital economy achieved an added value of 1.88 trillion yuan in 2023, up 8.5 percent. Its contribution was almost 43 percent of the regional GDP, up 1.3 percentage points.

In 2023, Beijing's industry became more high-end, intelligent and green. Combined added value of industries like new energy storage, semiconductor devices, display devices and NEV manufacturing rose by more than 60 percent.

dujuan@chinadaily.com.cn