The second session of the 13th Liaoning Provincial People's Congress was held between Jan 16 to Jan 18. The session saw the release of the latest government work report, highlighting the province's achievements over the past year.
Liaoning's economy in 2018 witnessed stable growth, with the GDP reaching 2.53 trillion yuan ($367 billion), an increase of 5.7 percent over the previous year, according to local officials of the province.
Specifically, the added value of primary, secondary and tertiary industries increased by 3.5 percent, 7.5 percent and 4.5 percent respectively. General public budget revenue hit 261.6 billion yuan, up 9.3 percent. Investment in fixed assets increased by 3.7 percent, and retail sales of consumer goods totaled 1.41 trillion yuan, up 6.7 percent. The per capita disposable income of urban residents was 37,342 yuan, an increase of 6.7 percent, while rural residents' income reached 14,656 yuan, an increase of 6.6 percent. The registered urban unemployment rate was kept within 3.98 percent.
Meanwhile, imports and exports in 2018 valued at 754.59 billion yuan, an increase of 11.8 percent. Export volume reached 321.49 billion yuan, up 5.7 percent; imports generated 433.1 billion yuan, a growth of 16.8 percent.
Maintaining stable economic growth
Another bumper harvest was achieved in the agricultural sector of the province, with grain output reaching 21.92 billion kilograms. Its industrial growth rate also ranks on the forefront of the country and has become the main driving force for economic growth. The added value of industries above designated size in 2018 grew by 9.8 percent, 5.4 percentage higher than the previous year. The general financial revenue reached 452.5 billion yuan, up 7.8 percent. The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 2.5, creating a total of 493,000 new jobs.
A worker tests the temperature of molten steel at a steel plant in Dalian, Liaoning province. [Photo by Liu Debin/For China Daily]
Achieving high-quality development
The development of the private economy was simultaneously accelerated, with a total of 23 supporting measures enacted. The 2018 China Top 500 Private Enterprises Summit was successfully held with a contract value of 295.6 billion yuan. The number of newly registered enterprises reached 168,000, up 5.7 percent. Meanwhile, it has also vigorously developed modern service industries, with total tourism revenue increasing by 13 percent. Most typically, the added value of equipment manufacturing increased by about 10 percent.
Meanwhile, the percentage of days with good air quality in Liaoning province reached 81 percent, 19 days more than the previous year.
Based in Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning province, Siasun as a leading enterprise among equipment manufacturing industry, it boasts a complete production line and business of world-class robots expanded to the global market. [Photo/VCG]
Targets to expect in 2019
The year 2019 marks the 70th anniversary of the founding for the People's Republic of China and will be a crucial year for building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
Hence, the main targets set for economic and social development in Liaoning province includes GDP growth keeping pace with that of the whole country, the general public budget revenue increasing by about 6.5 percent, the added value of industries above designated size increasing by eight percent, investment in fixed assets growing by about eight percent, and retail sales of consumer goods rising by seven percent. Total imports and exports increased by around seven percent and the CPI rose by around three percent. Meanwhile, the income of urban and rural residents kept pace with the economic growth, the registered urban unemployment rate keep within 4.5 percent with 420,000 new urban jobs being created, and energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of GDP decreases by three percent.
