Urumqi Business Guide - Economic Overview

Urumqi Business Guide - Economic Overview


Vital Statistics (2006)

GDP: RMB 65.4 billion
GDP per Capita: RMB32, 402
Economic Growth Rate: 14%
Population: 1.59 million (urban) – 0.43 million (rural)
FDI: US$69.2 million
Annual Average Wage: RMB 23,590
Government Effectiveness Rating: 41st
2006 Chinese Cities Competitive Rating: 86th 
 
Economic Overview
Urumqi is one of the key areas to benefit from China' s new policy of development of its western regions and has become key to the door to the country' s vast interior. As the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, it is a political, economic, scientific, technological and financial hub in the northwest region and as such has excellent development potential.

According to the China Investment Environment Report issued by the World Bank and the State Information Center on the 4th China Investment Environment Forum in 2006, Urumqi ranked 2nd in Northwest China and 41st overall among a total of 120 Chinese cities for its investment environment. It also has the fastest customs clearance rates, an average of 9.8 days, in Northwest China and was selected as one of  ''the Top 100 cities for investment environment in China''  by the State Statistics Council.

Urumqi is rich in oil and gas and is also situated in the middle of the Junggar coal belt, with more than 10 billion tons of coal reserves, covering one fourth of the total reserves in Xinjiang Region. The city is known by Chinese people as a  ''coal boat in an oil sea'' . The Tianger mountain range and the eastern Bogada mountain range on the upper reaches of the Urumqi and Toutun rivers, as well as the Tianshan mountain glaciers and permanent snowcaps form a ''natural solid reservoir'' of over 7.39 billion cubic meters of fresh water.

In the year 2006, driven by the city' s strategic industries (petrochemical, metallurgy, tourism and textiles), Urumqi' s GDP reached 65.4 billion RMB, increasing by 14%. Retail sales volume reached 2.73 billion RMB, accounting for 38% of the province' s total sales. Per capita GDP broke through the US$3,000 barrier, ranking Urumqi first among northwestern provincial capitals and per capita disposable income of urban residents climbed to 10,400 RMB. In 2006, the city invested 24.84 billion RMB in fixed assets.

The city' s strategic planning foresees further development of its mainstay strategic industries, especially in the secondary sector, with further advances to be made in service industries such as tourism, finance and insurance, information technology, real estate and community services.

 

Economic Contribution Ratios by Sector
In 2006, primary industries sector, including agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries, accounted for 1.5% of GDP; the contribution of the secondary sector and value-added industries and construction was 37.0% while the tertiary sector contributed 61.5% of GDP. 
                                                      Composition of GDP (%)

Sector 1995 2000 2006
Primary 2.13 1.38 1.50
Secondary 38.65 36.95 37.0
Tertiary 59.22 61.67 61.5

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