Resilience helps Shanghai offset economic losses from outbreak

Resilience in tech-driven services and high-end manufacturing has helped Shanghai partially offset excessive losses posted by traditional commercial services hampered by the novel coronavirus epidemic, according to the city's latest economic indicators published on Monday. 

The metropolis reported first quarter GDP of 785.7 billion yuan ($111.13 billion), down 6.7 percent year-on-year, a pace slightly slower than the national drop of 6.8 percent in the same period. 

Among them, the services sector, which claimed roughly 70 percent of Shanghai's GDP composition, ebbed 2.7 percent to reach 609.6 billion yuan. Agriculture and industry output slid 18.2 percent and 18.1 percent, respectively.

Industries with a high level of internet penetration, digitalization and innovation bucked the overall gloomy trend, with the information and software-related sectors posting 13.1 percent year-on-year growth. 

This was followed by 7.3 percent in financials, and 5.2 percent in education, as well as 23.5 percent in healthcare and social work due to the enormous devotion to combating the virus. The above four industries drove citywide economic growth by 3.1 percentage points.

Strategically-emerging industries posted a 3.6 percent decline, milder than the entire industrial sector. Representing industries like new generation information technology jumped 15.3 percent from previous year, while that of new energy cars saw 5.7 percent year-on-year growth. 

Those grappling the most included wholesale and retail businesses, which saw a 19.5 percent decline, and transportation, warehousing and postal services were down by 18.5 percent. The real estate sector posteda 10.3 percent fall.