Engineers test the automatic machines at an equipment manufacturing factory in Jiashan county, Zhejiang province on Feb 12. [Photo/IC]

East China's Zhejiang province recorded a GDP growth of 7.7 percent in the first quarter of this year, reaching 1.3 trillion yuan ($193.44 billion), official data released at a news conference revealed on April 22.

The per capita disposable income of residents grew 9.2 percent year-on-year to 15,505 yuan in Zhejiang, and more than 316,700 new jobs have been created from January to March, according to the news conference on Monday.

Wang Meifu, chief statistician at the provincial statistics department, said Zhejiang's economy is off to a strong start this year.

Industrial economy played a key role in the economic growth, contributing to 42.3 percent of the province's GDP in the first quarter.

Wang remarked that the value added of industrial enterprises above designated size – defined as state-owned and non-state-owned industrial companies with annual revenue of over 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) – has grown 8.9 percent year-on-year, which should be partly attributed to the preferential policies of local governments.

As an economic powerhouse known for its thriving private economy, Zhejiang saw robust growth among private enterprises in the first three months. The value added in this sector increased 11.6 percent year-on-year.

People admire the digital technologies at the 2018 Computing Conference in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo/IC]

Digital economy has been regarded as a new driving force behind Zhejiang's economy. Official statistics show that core digital economy industries witnessed a growth of 13.6 percent in value added in the first quarter of 2019.

New and advanced industries and products, which have come about as a result of Zhejiang's industrial transformation, showed steady development, according to the news conference.

Wang noted that, although Zhejiang's economic growth at the beginning of the year has exceeded forecasts, there is still much pressure.

"In the following days, Zhejiang should further implement economic schemes to consolidate the positive results we've been seeing lately," said the chief statistician.

Containers full of goods are ready to be transported to other countries and regions at Ningbo-Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang province. [Photo/IC]