Zhanjiang saw a resumption of growth in its economy in the first half of this year after the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to the 10th plenary session of the 11th CPC Zhanjiang Municipal Committee, which was held on July 18.

In the first six months of this year, the city's key projects have been completed with an investment of 22.21 billion yuan ($3.17 billion), accounting for 46.9 percent of the annual plan and an increase of 15.8 percent over that of the first five months.

A total of 2,165 5G base stations were set up in the city from January to June, making up 99.8 percent of the annual target set by the provincial government for the city. Its total number of 5G base stations is currently 2,545.

From January to May, the total volume of trade in goods in Zhanjiang reached 14.38 billion yuan, a decrease of 6.6 percent, ranking seventh among the 21 prefecture-level cities. The city's import of resource-based bulk commodities, such as iron ore, as well as aquatic and marine products, rose by 10.2 percent and 36.1 percent respectively.

A bird's eye view of the construction site of the Zhongke Refinery and Petrochemical project in Zhanjiang. [Photo by Nie Dongsheng/gdzjdaily.com.cn]

The city was also approved by the State Council in May to establish a comprehensive pilot zone for cross-border e-commerce.

Zhanjiang also organized 64 enterprises to take part in the 127th China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, which was held in Guangzhou, Guangdong province from June 15 to 24. The transaction intention with Zhanjiang's home appliance enterprises reached $50.45 million through online live streaming activities.

In addition, a total of 81,680 poverty-stricken households, 233,737 impoverished people, and 218 provincial poverty-stricken villages in Zhanjiang have been lifted out of poverty by the end of June. The city has also finished the renovation of 28,582 dilapidated houses in its rural areas, and ensured safe drinking water for all impoverished people.

In the first half of this year, Zhanjiang realized an agricultural output valued at 45.1 billion yuan, up 1.6 percent from that of the first quarter of this year.