Beijing's GDP is anticipated to surpass 3 trillion yuan (US$ 435 billion) this year, meeting its annual target of 6.5-percent GDP growth, a spokesperson from the Beijing Municipal Committee of Reform and Development said on Dec. 24. 

The city's GDP reached 2 trillion yuan in 2013, doubling the number from 2007 in six years. The new milestone this year would mean that it took five years to add another 1 trillion yuan in its GDP, one year shorter than it previously needed.

Three nation-leading development indicators

Beijing's GDP grew by 6.7 percent, 6.8 percent, and 6.7 percent in the first three quarters, and officials said it would be reasonable to expect that the annual growth rate target of 6.5 percent can be achieved. "We have achieved this target in the context of functional dispersal, environmental governance and structural adjustment, and it was not an easy task," said the spokesperson.

Stable employment was a major feature of Beijing's development. The employment rate of college graduates was 97 percent this year. As of end of November, 403,000 jobs had been created in urban districts, while 58,000 had been created for rural areas, both exceeding the annual target. The registered urban unemployment rate was 1.43 percent, while the surveyed urban unemployment rate remained at less than 5 percent.

Meanwhile, Beijing's general public budget revenue is expected to grow by about 6.5 percent this year, and per capita disposable income of Beijing residents grows in lockstep with the rate of economic growth. Three development indicators in Beijing are now leading the country: its energy consumption per unit of GDP, which is expected to drop by about 3.5 percent; its per capita GDP, which is expected to exceed US$20,000; and the overall labor productivity, which is more than 240,000 yuan per person.

200 innovation enterprises established per day

In 2018, there were 11 scientists who won either the Nobel Prize, the Turing Award, or the Eni Award in Beijing. An average of 200 innovation enterprises were established per day, while 70 enterprises made to the world's unicorn list. The number of "mass entrepreneurship and innovation" demonstration bases in Beijing reached 20, accounting for one-sixth in China. The booming entrepreneurship and innovation brought vast riches: From January to October, Zhongguancun Demonstration Area achieved a total income of 4.2 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.7 percent year-on-year, with the number of venture capital cases and the total amount of investment both ranking first in the country.

Beijing is also laying out future innovations in science and technology, speeding up construction of Zhongguancun Science City, Huairou Science City, Future Science City, and the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area. The city also boasted several homegrown achievements in fundamental and advanced subjects, and many scientific installations are being built in Huairou Science City.

"Both the technology and the culture are developing fast, and the dual-wheel drive has strengthened the new momentum of economic development in Beijing," said the spokesperson. He said that Beijing's rich cultural resources are leading to strong innovative vitality. This year, the city completed projects for the protection and construction of the Grand Canal, the Yongding River in Xishan, and the Great Wall. In addition, it initiated new guidelines to support the development of bookstores, now with 1,011 locations around the city. By using reclaimed space, it built 21 cultural industry parks, while raising 16.8 billion yuan in funds for its Cultural Investment Platform. The development of high-end and sophisticated industries has also scored remarkable results. From January to November, the added value of high-tech manufacturing industries and strategic emerging industries in the whole city grew by 15 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively, while the added value of electronic equipment and pharmaceutical industries increased by 17.2 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

Finance, information services, and scientific and technological services were the three major contributors to Beijing's economy, combining to account for approximately 60 percent of the city's economic growth. 

Consumer spending on cultural tourism, education and training, healthcare and other categories related to people's daily needs was also a strong driver for the city's economic development. Data shows that from January to November, service-related spending accounted for 54.2 percent of all consumer spending.

Land reclamation and green transformation

The coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region was accelerated in 2018. From January to November, Beijing demolished 6,484 hectares of land that were once occupied by illegal constructions, dredged and upgraded 203 markets and logistics centers, and weeded out 656 low-end manufacturing enterprises. Beijing Industrial and Commercial University, Beijing Film Academy, Beijing City College and other colleges and universities speeded up construction of their new campuses, while Tiantan Hospital was relocated to a new address. In all, 1,600 hectares of land was reclaimed and transformed into green spaces, such as urban forest parks and recreational parks. In the city's sub-center in Tongzhou district, the main project of the first phase of the administrative office district was completed, supporting projects such as schools started construction, and the first batch of municipal departments moved into new offices.

Since 2017, Beijing has launched measures to optimize the business environment and stimulate new vitality. The city analyzed and listed out the difficulties and needs of private enterprises, formulated 69 support measures, and established a relief fund of more than 35 billion yuan.

Beijing is also accelerating the pace of opening up. In 2018, the city has launched 117 reform measures. It completed the pilot project for the expansion of opening up efforts in the service sector, which lasted three years and included 226 basic tasks. The city was also approved to become a national pilot city for deepening the innovation and development of trade in services, and a comprehensive pilot zone for cross-border e-commerce, with imports and exports of trade in services exceeding 1 trillion yuan for the year.

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