Chongqing - On October 22, Chongqing reported a 6.0% year-on-year GDP growth for the first three quarters of 2024, reaching 2.32 trillion yuan (USD 326.1 billion).

Chongqing's industrial sector grew strongly, with industries above the designated size seeing an 8.1% year-on-year increase, 2.3 points above the national average. The automobile and chemical industries led, growing by 25.9% and 16.8%, respectively.

"The added value of the automobile industry surged by 25.9%, contributing 4.5 percentage points to the city's overall growth, underscoring its crucial role," said Xue Jian, director of the supervision and evaluation department of the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Statistics. 

He highlighted that industrial enterprises above the designated size achieved total profits of 89.54 billion yuan from January to August, marking an 11.2% year-on-year increase, 10.7 percentage points higher than the national rate, with profitability continuing to improve.

Xue highlighted the rapid development of emerging industries, stating, "New energy vehicles, integrated circuits, and liquid crystal displays have driven Chongqing's industrial expansion, with output increasing by 1.3 times, 1.0 times, and 25.6%, respectively, during the first three quarters."

In the first three quarters of 2024, Chongqing's regional GDP surged by 6.0% year-on-year, hitting 2.32 trillion yuan. (Graphic/Zheng Ran)

Technological advancements, including artificial intelligence and digital services, are also significantly integrating the digital economy with traditional industries. From January to August, the city's supply chain management, Internet data services, and digital platforms saw operating revenues increase by 2.2 times, 85.0%, and 30.8%, respectively.

Regarding consumption, in the first three quarters, Chongqing's total retail sales of consumer goods reached 1.17 trillion yuan, up 3.8% year-on-year. Retail sales of goods hit 977.77 billion yuan, while food and beverage revenue rose 10.4% to 187.98 billion yuan.

"Driven by trade-in policies and promotional activities, new energy vehicle sales in Chongqing continued to climb, increasing by 22.4% year-on-year," Xue added.

Chongqing's logistics sector grew significantly through the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC), transporting 183,300 TEUs in the first three quarters, a 45% year-on-year rise, with goods valued at 34.88 billion yuan, up 80%.

The China-Europe (Chengdu-Chongqing) freight train service maintained stable operations, with 4,520 trains running in the first three quarters. A new full-schedule train service to Duisburg, Germany, was launched, and the Chongqing-Turkey route continued stable operations.

A drone photo taken on May 5, 2024, shows a China-Europe freight train waiting to depart from the Tuanjiecun Station in the Chongqing International Logistics Hub Park in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality. (Photo/Huang Wei)

Chongqing's export sector remained strong, with industrial enterprises above the designated size reporting an export delivery value of 356.54 billion yuan, up 7.4%. The computer, communication, and electronic equipment manufacturing industries contributed 280.39 billion yuan, while the automobile manufacturing sector saw a 50.5% increase in export value, reaching 32.482 billion yuan.

"Although the external environment remains challenging, Chongqing's industrial economy has a solid foundation, and we expect continued growth in the fourth quarter," said Wu Dan, director of the industrial department of the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Statistics.