Shanghai GDP topped $321bn in 2012

Shanghai’s GDP grew 7.5% year-on-year to exceed 2 trillion yuan (US$321 billion) in 2012, official figures showed. The data, released by the Shanghai Bureau of Statistics, placed the city on top of all major Chinese cities in terms of economic activity, said Yan Jun, the bureau’s chief economist. The city’s GDP reached 1 trillion yuan (US$160 billion) in 2006 and 1.5 trillion yuan (US$241 billion) in 2009. The city’s rate of economic growth also rebounded earlier than the national average, Yan said. According to Yan, the service industry contributed 82.7%, to Shanghai’s GDP growth in 2012, indicating a breakthrough in the transformation of the city’s economic structure.