STORY: Consumption and innovation drive China's local GDP growth, economic upgrade
DATELINE: Aug. 12, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:00
LOCATION: LHASA/NANJING, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of China
2. various of China's Tibet Autonomous Region
3. various of China's Jiangsu Province
4. SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): BA XIAOYU, Director of the marketing department of State Grid Suqian Power Supply Company
5. SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): LI MINFU, Director of the bureau of industry and information technology, Suqian City

STORYLINE:
 
China's overall economic growth accelerated in the first half of this year as its service sector rebounded, and traditional industries achieved upgrades through innovation.

Consumption and innovation have become keywords for the encouraging half-yearly local GDP reports and major growth engines in China's local economic development.

Culture and tourism consumption, mainly led by the accommodation and catering sector, contributed considerably to the GDP growth of many regions, including southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.
 
The service industry played a prominent role in Tibet's economic growth in the first half of the year.
 
From January to May, the operating revenue of the major service enterprises in Tibet reached nearly 8.5 billion yuan (about 1.18 billion U.S. dollars), up 10.6 percent year on year.
 
Meanwhile, led by new technologies, industries, business models and patterns, many regions across China saw an upward momentum in investment and added values in relevant industry segments during the first six months.

In east China's Jiangsu Province, nearly one-half of the total value of its major industrial enterprises during the period was contributed by its high-tech industry.

Among the total, the added value of new energy vehicles, photovoltaic equipment and components, and lithium-ion battery manufacturing grew by 86.5 percent, 36.9 percent and 28.8 percent, respectively.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): BA XIAOYU, Director of the marketing department of State Grid Suqian Power Supply Company
"In the first half of this year, Suqian has seen robust growth in its industries related to new energy. The electricity consumed by the manufacturing of photovoltaic equipment and components grew by 94.39 percent year on year."

SOUNDBITE 2 (Chinese): LI MINFU, Director of the bureau of industry and information technology, Suqian City
"We will accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system, and pursue upgrades in key industrial chains to lay a solid foundation for building Suqian into an advanced manufacturing base in the Yangtze River Delta."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Lhasa/Nanjing, China.
(XHTV)