Shandong's economy sees steady growth in first three quarters

East China's Shandong province had maintained strong economic performance in the first three quarters of this year, achieving a regional GDP of 7.71 trillion yuan ($1.08 trillion), up 5.6 percent year-on-year. The province's economy has shown balanced growth across different sectors.

Agriculture remains stable, with the total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery rising 4.3 percent. Industrial production has experienced significant growth, especially in equipment manufacturing, which contributed to an 8.9 percent increase in the manufacturing sector. The service industry also performed well, with 28 of the 32 major industries recording revenue growth.

The consumer market is expanding steadily, with the province's retail sales of consumer goods reaching over 3.03 trillion yuan, up 5.6 percent. Online retail sales of physical goods above a designated threshold surged 17.1 percent.

Investment quality has improved, with industrial investment growing 7.7 percent. Foreign trade continues to grow, with a total import and export value of 2.62 trillion yuan, up 5.5 percent.

Additionally, Shandong has made progress in employment, with nearly 1.06 million new urban jobs created.