The Hebei government’s information office has reported steady economic growth in 2012 for the province, with GDP increasing by 9.6 percent, year-on-year, at 2.66 trillion yuan ($426 billion).

Local grain output grew for nine straight years, to 64.93 billion kilograms, a year-on-year increase of 2.3 percent, and an another good harvest year.

Both industrial production and efficiency saw stable growth last year, with industrial added value at 1.1 trillion yuan, an increase of 13.4 percent, while fixed-asset investment also enjoyed a rise of 20 percent, to a total of 1.97 trillion yuan. Consumer goods kept their momentum in both urban and rural areas, with total retail sales reaching 915.4 billion yuan, a 15.5 percent year-on-year increase. And, incomes of local people saw good growth, with those of rural people growing faster than those of urbanites. The CPI index increased 2.6 percent, or slightly below the year’s goal.