An economic rebound is underway in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region despite the lingering impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak, according to information from the autonomous region’s statistics bureau.

Statistics show that in the first three quarters of this year, the GDP of Inner Mongolia was 1,232 billion yuan ($178.55 billion), a year-on-year decrease of 1.9 percent.

The total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries in Inner Mongolia reached 136.30 billion yuan, and the growth rate changed from a 0.3 percent decline in the first half of the year to an increase of 0.2 percent in the first nine months, turning from negative to positive.

From January to September, the added value of the autonomous region’s industrial enterprises above designated size – industrial enterprises with a primary business income of more than 20 million yuan ($2.90 million) annually – fell by 1.9 percent year-on-year, and the growth rate dropped 0.2 percentage points from the first half of the year.

Meanwhile, the production and operation of transportation, tourism, entertainment and other service industries has been gradually restored.

With the implementation of spending promotion measures, the consumption potential of residents has been further boosted. 

In the first three quarters of the year, the total retail sales value of consumer goods in Inner Mongolia fell by 9.9 percent year-on-year, but the rate of decline narrowed 3.9 percentage points from the first half of the year. It's the first time the rate of decline has narrowed to single digits this year.

Over the same period, fixed asset investment in Inner Mongolia fell by 7.7 percent year-on-year, but again the rate of decline narrowed by 4.3 percentage points and 14.6 percentage points compared with the January to August period and the first half of the year, respectively.

Of this total, real estate development investment and commercial housing sales achieved a "double increase". In the first three quarters of the year, the autonomous region's real estate development investment was 92.73 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.9 percent. The sales area of commercial housing was 12.99 million square meters, an increase of 0.7 percent year-on-year.

In the first three quarters of the year, the per capita disposable income of all residents in Inner Mongolia was 22,944 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.1 percent, and an increase of 1.6 percentage points from the first half of the year.