NANSHAN’S gross domestic product (GDP) for the first half of 2018 ranked first among districts and new area in Shenzhen, but its growth rate was slower than the city’s average, according to the city’s statistics bureau.

Nanshan’s GDP for the first six months reached 214.646 billion yuan (US$31.34 billion), up 6.7 percent from the same period last year. The city’s GDP for the first half of the year increased by 8 percent from the same period last year, hitting 1.1 trillion yuan.

The trade dispute between China and the United States was behind the slower growth of Nanshan’s GDP, according to Guo Wanda, executive deputy head of China (Shenzhen) Development Institute.

Guo said the industrial added value above a certain scale and the export of high-tech products are the two main drivers of the economic growth in Nanshan District. Because of the trade dispute, the export volume of high-tech products for enterprises in Nanshan District decreased, which also had a negative impact on the industrial output of high-tech enterprises, said Guo.

Nanshan was followed by Longgang, which recorded the fastest growth rate in the city at 9.3 percent. The GDP of Longgang reached 195.247 billion yuan, narrowly overtaking Futian with 192.946 billion yuan. Futian’s GDP grew 7.7 percent from the same period last year.

However, according to the statistics bureau, Futian’s per kilometer GDP topped the city at 2.453 billion yuan. Futian takes up less than 4 percent of the city’s total area, yet contributed to nearly 20 percent of the city’s GDP.

Bao’an District ranked fourth with its GDP hitting 175.69 billion yuan, up 8 percent year on year.

Longhua overtook Luohu to rank fifth, but Luohu’s per kilometer GDP was 1.31 billion yuan, 2.4 times the city’s average. The tertiary industry plays an important role in Luohu’s economy, contributing to more than 95 percent of the district’s GDP.

Guo said it was not surprising that Longgang has achieved the city’s fastest GDP growth, as its economic aggregates were much lower than other districts, such Nanshan and Futian.

Longgang also has an advantage in area, Guo said. It is the second largest district in terms of land area in the city. Its size is more than twice that of Nanshan, and almost five times that of Futian.

(SD News)