A news conference on Jilin’s economic performance in the first quarter is held on April 28. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

Northeast China’s Jilin province held a news conference on April 28, to report its economic performance in the first quarter, according to local reports.

Zhao Haifeng, deputy director of the Jilin Provincial Development and Reform Commission, briefed the media on the economic performance.

The official said that due to influence of the novel coronavirus epidemic, the province saw its GDP decrease 6.6 percent in the first quarter, but in the wake of a raft of supportive measures launched by the province, its economic development has begun to see a gradual recovery, which has manifested itself in a number of areas.

Zhou said that agricultural production was generally stable. At present, preparations for spring plough has ended and seeding has entered its critical period. The intended planting area of grain in Jilin province is 85.02 million mu (5.67 million hectares), an increase of 348,000 mu compared with last year.

He said the decline in industrial production has slowed down significantly. In the first three months, the added value of industrial enterprises above a designated size in Jilin province -- those with annual revenue of 20 million yuan ($2.83 million) or more -- decreased by 12.2 percent year-on-year, but that was 9.8 percentage points better than the January-February period.

In addition, in March, key enterprises such as FAW Group and CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles all achieved positive growth. The production and sales of FAW Hongqi brand cars increased by 75.4 percent and 87.4 percent, respectively.

Official said the business services industry has seen a steady recovery. In the first quarter, the province increased support to the industry and the online retail sales increased by 7.6 percent year-on-year.

Effective investment has been expanded in the province. Jilin held launch ceremonies for key projects and carried out online approvals of projects -- in order to lower exposure risks amid the outbreak and increase approvals efficiency. In the first quarter, investment in fixed assets in Jilin declined by 8.2 percent, while investment in infrastructure and real estate increased by 8.6 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the province’s foreign trade has achieved positive growth. The province helped solve practical problems such as international logistics and corporate financing challenges faced by foreign trade enterprises. It encouraged local companies to expand into international markets, and held a number of online investment promotion activities. In the first quarter, Jilin province recorded foreign investment in actual use of $260 million, a year-on-year increase of 2.1 percent, and achieved total imports and exports of 30.07 billion yuan, an increase of 0.1 percent.

The employment situation is generally stable, officials said. Through the implementation of a series of supportive measures, the new urban employment and rural labor transfer employment completed 22.2 percent and 33.2 percent of the annual plan in the first quarter, respectively. The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents increased by 1.3 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively, during Q1.

Elsewhere, the increase in prices has slowed down. Officials said the province made every effort to control the prices of important daily necessities and issued temporary price subsidies to people in need.

They said that the nation’s and Jilin’s measures to support economic growth proved to be effective -- and with work recovering to normal levels, the province is expected to see a steady economic improvement in the second quarter.