China's Gansu posts annual GDP growth of 6.9 pct in past decade

Northwest China's Gansu Province recorded an average annual growth of 6.9 percent in its gross domestic product (GDP) in the past decade, according to provincial officials.

The province's GDP exceeded 1 trillion yuan (about 147 billion U.S. dollars) in 2021, said Yin Hong, secretary of the Gansu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, at a press briefing on Saturday.

Over the past decade, the province has accelerated the upgrading of traditional industries, seen robust development momentum of emerging industries and built a wind power base with an installed capacity of over 10 gigawatts, said Yin.

In the period, about 5.52 million people in the province were lifted out of poverty, according to Yin.

Meanwhile, the province has upgraded its infrastructures, with road mileage and operating mileage of railways increasing by 25,400 km and 2,710 km, respectively. The operations of railways, water supply project and other utility projects have significantly benefited local residents, according to Yin.

The province has also made headway in preserving the ecology and environment, having more days with good air quality and better quality of surface water.

Governor of Gansu Ren Zhenhe said that, benefiting from the Belt and Road Initiative, the province's foreign trade with Belt and Road countries reached 15.4 billion yuan in the first half of the year, up 25.2 percent year on year.