The gross domestic product (GDP) of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region totaled 732.9 billion yuan (about 113 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2021, up 9.9 percent year on year, local authorities said Thursday.
The steady growth was mainly driven by the secondary and tertiary industries, with their added values rising 10.5 percent and 10.3 percent year on year in the six-month period, respectively, according to the regional government.
Xinjiang's tourism sector saw robust growth during the period. The region's 4A and 5A tourist spots received about 23.4 million domestic and overseas visitors, an increase of 58.2 percent over the same period last year.
Song Xiuhong, deputy director of the regional statistics bureau, said Xinjiang's economy has operated steadily but still faces pressure as "growth of major economic indicators has slowed down."
Xinjiang will accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system in the second half of this year and focus on developing industries including new energy, new material, biomedicine and high-end equipment manufacturing, Song added.
