SHENZHEN’S GDP reached 970.9 billion yuan (US$144 billion) in the first half of the year, an increase of 8.8 percent over the same period last year, according to official statistics.

The growth rate, which was the highest since 2014, surpassed the national average of 6.9 percent as well as Beijing’s 6.8 percent growth rate and Shanghai’s 6.9 percent.

Besides GDP index, the growth of industrial added value also hit a new high in the past four years.

The city’s investment in fixed assets also grew by more than 30 percent in the first six months, statistics showed.

The city’s investment in fixed assets reached 207 billion yuan, an increase of 30.6 percent over the same period last year, and 22 percentage points higher than the national average.

Between January and June, the city’s total retail sales of consumer goods reached 277.3 billion yuan, an increase of 9.4 percent, the highest since 2013, indicating that the consumer market is still recovering.

Statistics from Shenzhen Customs showed the city’s foreign trade reached 1.2 trillion yuan in the first six months, an increase of 5.3 percent over the same period last year, and accounted for 9.4 percent of the country’s total trade volume. Exports reached 744.8 billion yuan, an increase of 6.1 percent, and imports reached 487.6 billion yuan, an increase of 4 percent.

Trade with Southeast Asian countries reached 152.6 billion yuan, an increase of 15 percent and trade with the U.S. reached 129 billion yuan, an increase of 17.6 percent. Trade with the EU reached 127.9 billion yuan, an increase of 11.7 percent.

The added value of key enterprises reached 359.6 billion yuan, an increase of 7.8 percent, which was higher than the national and provincial averages.

Among them, the top 100 industrial enterprises contributed 220.7 billion yuan, an increase of 10.7 percent, showing the leading role of key enterprises.

Among the 11 emerging industries, the added value of the IT, Internet, new material, biology, new energy, and cultural creation industries all maintained double-digit increases. The four future industries, namely oceanic, aviation, life health, and robotics and wearables, continued to increase at between 10.6 and 34.4 percent.

Six of the 11 enterprises in Guangdong that are listed on the 2017 Fortune 500, namely Ping An Insurance, China Merchants Bank, Vanke, Huawei, Tencent and Amer, are based in Shenzhen.

(Han Ximin)