Shanghai sees GDP grow by 5% in 2023

Thanks to the maturity of new growth engines and the advancement of industrial capacity, Shanghai saw its annual GDP grow by 5 percent year-on-year to exceed 4.72 trillion yuan ($657.09 billion) in 2023, said the city's bureau of statistics.

The added value of the secondary industry increased by 1.9 percent from a year earlier while that of the tertiary industry up by 6 percent on a yearly basis, according to the official data.

Consumption and investment, the two major contributors to GDP, have improved steadily.

In 2023, Shanghai's total retail sales of consumer goods jumped by 12.6 percent over the previous year. The overall consumption confidence was strongly boosted by major shopping carnivals and promotion activities such as the May 5 Shopping Festival, which was held for the fourth consecutive year in 2023.

Shanghai's investment in fixed assets rose by 13.8 percent on a yearly basis in 2023. Major municipal engineering projects have been advancing orderly. Rapid growth could be seen in investments in construction and installation projects, as well as the equipment purchases aiming to expand production capacity, said the municipal statistics bureau.

Emerging industries have shown strong growth momentum. The output value of new energy vehicles and alternative energy industries spiked by 32.1 percent and 21.3 percent, respectively, on a yearly basis. The annual output growth rate of semiconductor storage disks topped 100 percent while that for 3D printing equipment reached 29.4 percent.

Over the first 11 months of 2023, the operating income of Shanghai's information transmission, software and information technology services increased by 17.7 percent year-on-year. Driven by the robust growth of leading online platforms for life services, the annual operating income growth rate of internet and related services came at 26 percent. The operating income of leasing and business services rose by 12.4 percent year-on-year.

Financial industry, a major strength of Shanghai's economy, showed steady growth last year. The total transaction value of Shanghai's financial market reached 3,373.63 trillion yuan in 2023, up 15 percent from a year earlier. The turnover of the interbank market increased by 17.9 percent year-on-year while a same growth rate could be seen at primary insurance premium income.

Shanghai's competitiveness in shipping strengthened last year. The annual container throughput of Shanghai Port approached 49.16 million TEUs, ranking the world's first for the 14th year in a row.

Last year, Shanghai's overall expenditure in research and development was equivalent to 4.4 percent of the city's GDP. The number of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people reached 50.2 by the end of 2023.

Shanghai residents' disposable per capita income came at 84,834 yuan in 2023, showing a nominal annual increase of 6.6 percent. The actual growth rate was 6.3 percent after deducting price factors. Urban permanent residents' disposable per capita income grew by 6.5 percent year-on-year on a nominal basis to 89,477 yuan in 2023, while that for rural permanent residents was 42,988 yuan, up by 8.2 percent in nominal terms.

In 2023, the average surveyed urban unemployment rate was 4.5 percent. The annual consumer prices grew moderately by 0.3 percent from a year earlier, said the municipal statistics bureau.