Shanghai's GDP falls 6.7% during pandemic

Shanghai’s gross domestic product declined 6.7 percent in the first quarter amid the COVID-19 pandemic, though industries led by the digital economy bucked the trend, according to Shanghai Bureau of Statistics data.

The city’s GDP stood at 785.66 billion yuan (US$110.79 billion) in the first quarter, dropping 6.7 percent year on year.

"Shanghai’s economy withstood the test of the coronavirus outbreak in the first quarter, but the downward trend of the global economy and uncertainties all pose challenges,” the bureau said.

China's GDP fell 6.8 percent year on year in the January-March period, the National Bureau of Statistics released the data last week.

Both the agricultural industry and the manufacturing industry saw a double-digit output decline with the former dropping 18.2 percent and the later decreasing 18.1 percent.

By comparison, the output of the service sector edged down just 2.7 percent.

The tenacity of the service sector was backed by the Internet, digitalization and scientific innovation industries, which contributed to a gain of 3.1 percentage points for the overall economy.

However, the wholesale and retail industry dropped 19.5 percent year on year. The transport, storage and post industry declined 18.5 percent.

Shanghai's industrial production dropped 17.4 percent year on year, to stand at 644.48 billion yuan. The six major industries (information technology, automobile, refinery, fine steel, set equipment and biomedicine) declined 16.6 percent.

Emerging industries fell 3.6 percent, among which new-generation information technology increased 15.3 percent, new-energy vehicles advanced 5.7 percent, and the smartphone industry surged 33.7 percent.

Fixed-asset investment was down 9.3 percent year on year in the first three months, but investment in manufacturing gained momentum with a 12.1 percent growth.

Foreign investment increased 4.5 percent to US$4.67 billion.

Retail sales plunged 20.4 percent year on year, totaling 306.03 billion yuan. Wholesale and retail sales and the accommodation and catering industry saw declines of 18.0 percent and 42.4 percent, respectively.

Sales of basic necessities such as grain and oil and food increased 20.4 percent, and that of culture and office supplies surged 21.5 percent. Retail sales of online stores increased 4.4 percent to stand at 54.3 billion yuan in the first quarter, accounting for 17.7 percent of total sales.

Foreign trade of goods fell 4.0 percent to 756.1 billion yuan year on year in the first quarter. Exports were down 7.3 percent to 292.3 billion yuan and imports fell 1.7 percent to 463.7 billion yuan.

Disposable income per capita reached 19,621 yuan in the first quarter, up 4.9 percent year on year.

Shanghai’s Consumer Price Index, a gauge of inflation, increased 3.4 percent in the first quarter, indicating stable prices of goods and services.