The third session of the 17th Tai'an People's Congress is held in Tai'an in East China's Shandong province on April 2. [Photo/taian.gov.cn]

The third session of the 17th Tai'an People's Congress convened in Tai'an in East China's Shandong province on April 2 with the release of the government work report.

According to the report, Tai'an's economy in 2018 saw high-speed growth. Its GDP rose by 5.7 percent year-on-year to 365.15 billion yuan ($52.92 billion) while the per capita disposable income of the city's urban and rural residents grew by 7.5 percent and 8.2 percent.

The general public budget revenue reached 21.95 billion yuan, a yearly increase of 6 percent. The total retail sales of consumer goods in 2018 were 159.38 billion yuan, with a year-on-year growth rate of 8.8 percent.

The number of domestic and foreign visitors to the city in 2018 rose by 10 percent, while the tourism consumption increased year-on-year by 13.4 percent. Its total volume of foreign trade in 2018 was 16.08 billion yuan, of which 12.76 billion yuan was for exports, a year-on-year increase of 8.1 percent.

There were 57 high-tech enterprises founded in Tai'an in 2018. The output value by the city's high-tech enterprises above designated size in 2018 increased by 8.51 percent year-on-year and accounted for 36.89 percent of the overall output value created by industrial enterprises above designated size.

The Tai'an government also set out its development goals for 2019 in the report.

It is expected that regional GDP in 2019 will grow by around 6 percent, while general public budget revenue will increase by 5 percent. The per capita disposable income of the city's urban and rural residents will rise by about 7 percent and 7.5 percent. Its registered unemployment rate in urban areas will remain below 3.5 percent.

Promoting high-quality industrial development

Tai'an will seek to promote the high-quality development of the city's 10 traditional competitive and emerging industries, which will help accelerate the city's conversion of old and new growth drivers, and form several industrial clusters with a development potential exceeding 100 billion yuan.

The 10 industries are new generation of information technology, high-end equipment and intelligent manufacturing, new materials, new energy and energy conservation and environment protection, healthcare, modern high-efficiency agriculture, high-end chemical engineering, textiles and garments, modern logistics and cultural tourism.

Projects, including the relocation of Taishan Fiberglass Co and the construction of the design and research and development (R&D) center of the D&Y Textile and Garment Group, will be advanced to promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. The city will also boost the construction of projects, such as Shandong Companion Group's digital automatic cone dyeing factory which has an annual output of 200,000 tons, to strengthen its emerging industries.

The city will also cultivate its "double top 50" enterprises, which are the city's top 50 enterprises with comprehensive strength in the non-public economy and tax payments. It will give these enterprises support in tax, land, talent, financing and other aspects.

It is expected that there will be 10 enterprises with a total value of more than 10 billion yuan and six new enterprises with a total value between 5 to 10 billion yuan in three to five years.

The development of the city's modern service industry will be sped up to deepen the integration of the industry and advanced manufacturing, and to promote the development of other industries, including e-commerce, R&D and big data. Tai'an will accelerate the layout and construction of the railway logistics park and the Taishan inland port of Shandong Yuehau Energy Group.

Tai'an will continue to develop its cultural tourism as a strategic pillar industry. It will build a batch of characteristic tourist streets, and accelerate the construction of the Taishan Press Publishing Town and the modification landscape works in the core area of Tianping Lake. A rural tourism system, composed of characteristic towns and villages, leisure farms, modern agricultural parks, homestays and agritainment, will be formed to promote the upgrading and transformation of the city's rural tourism.

It will enhance the monitoring and analysis of its real economy, especially the industrial-based economy. Major economic indicators, including investment, fiscal taxation, enterprises above designated size, and imports and exports, will be paid close attention to in order to ensure stable economic growth.