The first session of the 14th Shandong Provincial People's Congress convened on Jan 13 in Jinan, capital of Shandong province.

A total of 857 deputies attended the event. Lin Wu, Party chief of Shandong province, formally declared the event open and Zhou Naixiang, governor of the province, delivered the annual work report for last year.

According to the provincial government work report, the overall economic and social development showed a good trend of stability and improvement in Shandong last year, and the province has effectively coordinated COVID-19 pandemic prevention and control measures with economic and social development.

Shandong saw a year-on-year increase of around 4 percent in gross regional product (GDP) in 2022. Industries including new energy vehicles, big data, AI, general aviation and food production all achieved rapid growth.

This year marks the starting point for fully implementing the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and is also a starting point for Shandong to build itself into a green, low-carbon and high-quality development pilot province in China.

The report also set goals for 2023, including an increase of more than 5 percent in gross regional production, a general public budget income hike of more than 5 percent, the per capita disposable income of residents growth of more than 5 percent, and 1.1 million new jobs are expected to be created.

The governor said that in 2023 the government will focus on 10 areas, such as advancing rural vitalization, promoting advanced manufacturing, broadening the opening-up process and promoting steady economic growth.

The first session of the 14th Shandong Provincial People's Congress kicks off on Jan 13 in Jinan, capital of Shandong province. [Photo/Iqilu News]

A total of 857 deputies attend the event. [Photo/Iqilu News]

Deputies attend the first session of the 14th Shandong Provincial People's Congress. [Photo/Iqilu News]

The first session is scheduled for five and a half days. [Photo/Iqilu News]