Chongqing- The gross domestic product (GDP) of Chongqing totaled 1.77 trillion yuan (US$ 265.5 billion) in the first three quarters of 2020, a 2.6% increase from the same period last year, local authorities said at Wednesday’s press conference.

Huang Ke (C), director of the Chongqing Municipal Statistics Bureau, attends the press conference. (Chongqing Release/Zou Le)

“Chongqing’s economic outlook is exhibiting a steady-to-growth transition, gathering strong momentum for high-quality development,” said Huang Ke, director of the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Statistics.

In breakdown, during the nine months, the value-added of primary industry rose by 3.9% year on year to 121.69 billion yuan, secondary industry by 3.9% to 700.86 billion yuan, and tertiary industry by 1.2% to 948.16 billion yuan.

Major indicators showed across-the-board improvements in the last three quarters, with the total output of farming, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery industries rising 4% year on year to 185.19 billion yuan on a comparable price scale; the industrial output of enterprises above designated size growing by 4.4% year on year, up from the 3.4% increase in Q1 and Q2; the total retail sales of consumer products contracting 2.2% year on year to 832.96 billion yuan, up from the 5% slump in Q1 and Q2; the fixed-asset investment expanding 2.5% year on year, keeping a 7-month-long continuous increase; total foreign trade volume surging 11.4% year on year to 461.39 billion yuan, up from the 7.9% increase in Q1 and Q2; the total floor area of commercial housing under construction sliding 2.5% year on year to 258 million square meters, up from the 2.8% contraction in Q1 and Q2; the consumer price index (CPI) floating to 3.2% year on year, down from the 3.7% increase in Q1 and Q2; and the per capita disposable income rising 6.5% year on year to 23,539 yuan, up from the 1.5% increase in Q1 and Q2.

The expansion of Chongqing’s economy in the first three quarters is much higher than the country’s GDP growth, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, which averaged a 0.7% increase year on year, returning to growth after a 1.6% contraction in the first half of the year and a 6.8% slump in Q1.