Pingyao county's socioeconomic development in 2019

Pingyao county in Jinzhong city, in North China's Shanxi province, continued expanding its economic transformation and upgrading and also improved the high-quality development of economy in 2019. 

Economic foundations consolidated

Pingyao county's regional gross domestic product (GDP) hit 11.60 billion yuan ($1.63 billion) in 2019, with a GDP growth rate 2.5 percentage points faster than that of Jinzhong city and 2.6 percentage points faster than that of Shanxi province. Its growth rate ranked second in Jinzhong city. 

The added value of the economy's primary sector was 1.23 billion yuan, an increase of 7.2 percent over 2018; the added value of the secondary sector was 3.17 billion yuan, up 7.9 percent; while the added value of the tertiary sector was 7.20 billion yuan, higher by 9.6 percent. 

The picture for agricultural was basically stable last year. The added value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries was 1.25 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 7.2 percent. The planting area for grain crops throughout the county was 360.2 square kilometers, an increase of 0.61 percent while total grain output was expected to be 189,800 metric tons, a decrease of 11.2 percent. 

Industrial production developed steadily in the county. The added value of industrial enterprises above designated size -- those with annual revenue of main business of 20 million yuan or more -- increased 7.1 percent compared with that of 2018.  

From January to December, the added value of nine core industries -- including coal mining, food production, chemical product manufacturing and equipment manufacturing -- grew while that of five industries including paper making, rubber and plastic products as well as metal products declined. 

Consumption and investment grew steadily in the past year. Total retail sales of social consumer goods in 2019 were 7.35 billion yuan, an increase of 8.1 percent compared with that of 2018. The county's investment in fixed assets reached 4.68 billion yuan, an increase of 3.1 percent. 

Finances was also stable with the general public budget revenue up at 790 million yuan in 2019, an increase of 18.2 percent year on year.

Economic transformation progresses

The industrial structure of Pingyao county was furthered optimized, with the tertiary sector leading economic growth. The proportion of the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors' added value accounted for 10.6 percent, 27.3 percent, and 62.1 percent respectively of GDP. 

Agricultural supply-side structural reforms advanced steadily in Pingyao which focused on developing high-yield agricultural products such as vegetables, medicinal materials and fruits. The planting area for cash crops increased 8.5 percent year on year and the area given over to orchards increased 10.6 percent at the end of the year. 

Manufacturing growth led industrial development of the county in 2019, with its added value accounting for 54.1 percent of the total, an increase of 9.0 percent year on year and 3.6 percentage points faster than that of the coal industry.

Economic growth quality continues to improve

Social and infrastructure expenditure grew rapidly in 2019. General public budget expenditure was 3.74 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 21.8 percent, of which spending on areas such as education, health and social security reached 3.35 billion yuan, accounting for 89.6 percent of the total expenditure, a year-on-year increase of 29.6 percent.

Companies' revenue and profits increased. The operating revenue of industrial enterprises above designated size -- those with annual revenue of 20 million yuan -- amounted to 14.92 billion yuan in 2019, an increase of 13.1 percent year on year; and the total profits reached 180 million yuan, an increase of 59 percent during the same period.

Local residents' incomes increased steadily in 2019, with the per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents at 32,726 yuan and 13,557 yuan respectively, for year-on-year growth of 7.5 percent and 8.7 percent.