Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, has greatly progressed in its economic and social development over the past decade, laying a solid foundation for its path in developing into a provincial capital with great strength.

Based on official statistics released by the Jinan municipal government, the city's gross regional production in 2021 was 1.14 trillion yuan ($157.32 billion), an increase of 2.15 times over that of 2012. The city's GDP grew at an average annual rate of 7.7 percent over the period.

Revenue in the general public budget increased from 38.082 billion yuan in 2012 to 100.761 billion yuan in 2021. The total retail sales of consumer goods increased from 232.36 billion yuan in 2012 to 512.61 billion yuan in 2021, with an average annual growth rate of 9.2 percent.

A night view of Jinan, Shandong province [Photo/IC]

Over the past decade, Jinan achieved strong results in the transformation of old growth drivers to new ones while focusing on innovation, which has helped optimize the city's industrial structure.

In 2021, 8,208 patents were granted, 3.9 times that of 2012, with an average annual growth of 16.2 percent. The proportion of the output value of high-tech industries in the total output value of industries above designated size increased from 39.6 percent in 2012 to 54.7 percent in 2021.

The service industry is booming, with the added value of modern services accounting for 59.5 percent of the city's total service industry in 2021, up 10.9 percentage points from 48.6 percent in 2012.

People's living standards have been improving. In 2021, the city's per capita disposable income for urban and rural residents reached 57,449 yuan and 22,580 yuan, respectively, 24,879 yuan and 12,086 yuan higher than that in 2012.

Jinan achieved a higher level of opening up over the past 10 years. In 2021, imports and exports totaled $30.3 billion, 2.7 times that of 2012, with an average annual growth of 11.5 percent.