Shandong reports GDP growth of 5.5 pct in Q1

East China's Shandong Province saw its GDP growing 5.5 percent in the first quarter to around 2.02 trillion yuan (about 300 billion U.S. dollars), the provincial government said Sunday.

Shandong's economy slowed down and fluctuated a little in the first two months in 2019, but it has gradually picked up since March, according to Wei Huaxiang, deputy secretary-general of the provincial government.

The province's high-tech manufacturing industries, including intelligent consumer devices, electronics and telecommunication system equipment, and biological pharmaceuticals continued to grow rapidly. The installed power-generating capacity of new energy increased by 14.2 percent, accounting for 21.5 percent of the province's total installed power capacity.

The foreign trade volume of Shandong reached 457.23 billion yuan in Q1, up 5.1 percent year on year.