An employee works in a foreign-funded auto parts factory in Qingdao, Shandong province on May 23, 2022. [Photo/VCG]

In the first half of this year, Shandong's GDP amounted to 4.17 trillion yuan ($618.66 billion), up 3.6 percent year-on-year.

This year, facing a complicated and challenging domestic and international environment for development, Shandong has risen to various challenges and taken well-coordinated steps to respond to COVID-19 issues and pursue economic and social development.

Shandong has prioritized stability while pursuing progress in the economy and laid a solid foundation for accomplishing this year's targets and tasks.

Shandong's total output of summer grain hit a new high, and the supply of major agricultural products remains stable. From January to June, the total output value of the province's agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery industries reached 516.38 billion yuan, up 5.4 percent year-on-year.

The total output of summer grain in Shandong reached a record high of 26.42 million metric tons, up 0.2 percent, and remained above 25 million tons for the fourth consecutive year.

Industrial production also picked up during this period, which has been fueled by better containment of the COVID-19 pandemic, gradual resumption of work and production, and a series of pro-growth policies.

Shandong's added value of industries above designated size increased by 4.8 percent year-on-year. The output of new energy vehicles, industrial robots and integrated circuits increased by 261 percent, 33.1 percent and 18.2 percent year-on-year, respectively.

Investment is playing an increasingly strong role in supporting steady growth. In the first half of the year, fixed asset investment increased by 7.5 percent in Shandong.

During this period, the total volume of imports and exports in Shandong reached 1.57 trillion yuan, up 17 percent year-on-year.