Xinjiang's economy soars in first half of year

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region's GDP reached 732.89 billion yuan ($113.4 billion), in the first half of this year, up 9.9 percent from a year earlier, officials said at a news conference on Thursday.

During the same period, the total output of farming, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries was 113.77 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.1 percent.

The region's summer grain output hit a record high, with an estimated 6.28 million tons.

Song Xiuhong, vice-director of the region's statistics bureau said two main factors have contributed to the stable development of agriculture, especially the bumper harvest of summer grain.

"One is that the government has increased subsidies to protect the fertility of cultivated land across the region. Also, the wide cultivation of high-quality crop varieties has helped increase the yield per unit area of land and total output," she said.

The region's industrial output in the first six months of this year rose by 11.4 percent year-on-year.

"Financial institutions at all levels have increased loan support, which helps to vitalize enterprises," Song said.

Moreove, as the region implemented strict COVID-19 prevention measures, the service industry began to recover.

From January to May, Xinjiang's service industry companies saw their total revenue surge to about 110.38 billion yuan.

"In the first half of this year, Xinjiang's economy had stable performance overall, laying a solid foundation for reaching the growth goals and completing the tasks set for the whole year," Song said.

"With more policies being implemented in the coming months, the region will be able to sustain its sound development for the rest of the year."