Recently, the Anhui Provincial Development and Reform Commission issued the "Report on the Implementation of Anhui Province’s National Economic and Social Development Plan for the First Half of 2025 and Opinions on Work for the Second Half." The report shows that the province’s economy remained generally stable, and made steady progress. In the first quarter, the province’s GDP grew by 6.2%, 0.8 percentage points higher than the national average, ranking third nationwide.

Top Three GDP Growth Nationwide in the First Quarter

The report indicates that in the first quarter, Anhui’s GDP grew by 6.2%, 0.8 percentage points above the national level, and the GDP growth rate of Anhui ranked 3rd in the country.

Industrial development remained strong, with the added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increasing by 8.4% in the first five months, ranking 7th nationwide and 1st in the Yangtze River Delta and central regions. Among these, automobile production reached 1.236 million units, and new energy vehicle production was 613,000 units, both ranking first nationally.

Consumption showed signs of recovery, with retail sales of consumer goods growing 5.5% in the first five months, 0.5 percentage points higher than the national average. Domestic tourist visits and tourism expenditure grew by 7.7% and 8%, respectively. Investment remained robust, with infrastructure investment rising 12.4%, 6.8 percentage points higher than the national figure. Financial support was strong: by the end of May, the balance of RMB loans in Anhui broke through the historic 9 trillion yuan mark, growing 9.5%. The total loan volume entered the top 10 nationwide for the first time, ranking 5th in growth rate.

The province continued to deepen reform and expand opening-up. The government transparency index ranked 7th nationally, and the business environment optimization score ranked 3rd. In the first five months, the added value of private industrial enterprises above designated size grew 10.9%, 2.5 percentage points higher than all industrial enterprises above designated size. Import and export volume grew 15.4%, ranking 6th nationwide and 1st in the Yangtze River Delta.

156,000 New Skilled Workers Added

Anhui promotes integrated development of education, science, technology, and talent, steadily enhancing the overall innovation system’s effectiveness.

The province holds 11.2 high-value invention patents per 10,000 people, an increase of 28.2%. It attracted 505 postdoctoral researchers and added 156,000 skilled workers (including 89,000 high-skilled talents). Anhui is accelerating the establishment of the Provincial Future Industry Pilot Zone, with key enterprises in the pilot zone expected to generate about 40 billion yuan in revenue in the first half of the year. Two new national logistics hubs and two logistics hub-bearing cities were added, ranking 5th and 7th nationwide respectively.

227,000 Mu of New High-Standard Farmland Built

Regarding Yangtze River Delta integration, Anhui actively aligns with Shanghai’s “Five Centers” strategy and identified 35 key docking platforms in the first batch. The Yangtze River Delta (Guangde) health and wellness base is progressing steadily, receiving 5.9 million health tourists in the first half of the year.

Anhui increased regional coordination and urban-rural integration, renovating 281 urban residential communities and 1,163 urban villages. Newly constructed high-standard farmland reached 227,000 mu, with a cumulative total of 65.439 million mu. Summer grain production achieved another bumper harvest, and Anhui received an excellent rating in the grain security responsibility system.

Environmental Quality Continues to Improve

In the first five months, the province’s average PM2.5 concentration dropped by 1.5%, and the ratio of good air quality days increased by 0.1 percentage points. The proportion of monitored sections had "fairly good" surface water quality -- at or above Grade III in the country's five-tier water quality system, rose to 89.6%, up 2.5 percentage points. The share of installed renewable energy capacity increased to 53.4%, with wind and photovoltaic power generation capacity surpassing coal-fired power generation for the first time.

402,000 New Urban Jobs in the First Half of the Year

Anhui continues to improve people’s livelihood. In the first half of the year, 402,000 new urban jobs were created, reaching 59.1% of the annual target.

Medical services continue to improve, with accelerated construction of the national regional medical center and the introduction of 713 new hospital technologies, projects, and methods, including 107 items filling provincial gaps.

Source: anhuinews.com