Jiaxing in Zhejiang province saw strong economic performance in the first quarter of 2024, with its gross domestic product soaring to 168.86 billion yuan ($23.3 billion), a 6.3-percent increase from the previous year.

The added value of the city's primary, secondary and tertiary sectors reached 1.94 billion yuan, 88.11 billion yuan and 78.8 billion yuan, respectively, up 3.4 percent, 7.1 percent and 5.5 percent.

The total output value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries in the city amounted to 4.73 billion yuan, an increase of 3.5 percent.

Industrial enterprises above designated size reported an 8.6-percent increase in added value, with significant growth in key industries including chemical fibers, electrical machinery, automobile manufacturing, textiles and chemicals.

The service sector showed signs of recovery, with transportation, wholesale, retail, and hospitality industries experiencing rapid growth. Fixed asset investment grew by 5.8 percent, with ecological environment, transportation, energy, and water conservancy investments seeing a substantial increase.

Retail sales of consumer goods hit 66.1 billion yuan, an uptick of 8.6 percent, driven by strong new energy vehicle sales.

Jiaxing's import and export value reached 113.68 billion yuan, a 10.8-percent increase, with exports accounting for 84.33 billion yuan of the total.

Fiscal revenue stood at 38.33 billion yuan, with general public budget revenue at 246.45 billion yuan. General public budget expenditures grew by 18.3 percent, focusing on livelihood expenditures.

The per capita disposable income of the city's urban residents increased 5.3 percent to 23,594 yuan, while rural residents saw a 7.9-percent rise to 17,103 yuan, indicating a narrowing urban-rural income gap.