A night view of Jinan's business center in Jinan High-tech Innovation Zone. [Photo/IC]

The Jinan government announced at a news conference on July 23 that the city's economy saw steady growth and high quality development in the first half of 2019.

Jinan's gross domestic product rose 7 percent to 479.1 billion yuan ($69.4 billion), ranking second in Shandong province.

The added value of industries above designated size increased by 6.7 percent, while fixed asset investment rose by 7.7 percent, remaining first in the province.

Total retail sales of consumer goods and general public budget grew by 8.2 percent and 10.1 percent respectively, the latter ranking 3rd in the province.

Significant progress has been made in the shift of growth drivers from old to new ones. The electronic information industry and internet-related sectors surged 13.4 and 30 percent respectively. The number of high-tech enterprises reached 1,636. A total of 261 key projects started construction in the first half of the year.

Twelve companies in the Fortune Global 500 and 21 of China's top 500 companies have planned to set up operations in Jinan International Finance City.

Officials said that the Jinan government will further strive to promote the city's economic and social development in the next half of the year.