Ningde's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 41.5 billion yuan ($6.2 billion) in the first quarter of the year, registering an increase of 11 percent year-on-year, as per official statistics.

The growth rate is 2.7 percentage points faster than that recorded in the same period last year and is the fastest in Zhejiang.

Four pillar sectors- new energy batteries, new energy vehicles, stainless steel materials and copper materials- have emerged as new engines fueling the city's robust economic growth.

New energy battery

Ningde has become the world's largest manufacturing hub for lithium-ion batteries. Official data shows that the output of the new energy battery industry grew by 25.8 percentin 2018 and is projected to exceed 100 billion yuan in 2020.

The city is home to Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL). CATL became the world's largest battery producer by sales in 2017, according to Shenzhen Gaogong Industry Research Co Ltd. The company has set up branches in the United States, Canada and Japan.

A workshop of Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) in Ningde, East China's Fujian province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

New energy vehicles

A new energy vehicles (NEVs) production base funded by SAIC (Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation) is currently under construction in Ningde.

The base, the largest of its kind in Fujian, encompasses two phases, occupying more than 6,800 mu in total. In the first phase, the factory will have a capacity of 300,000 vehicles and auto parts. After the second phase is completed, it will become one of the most competitive production bases for NEVs in coastal areas of Southeast China.

The first car manufactured in the factory has recently rolled off the line, with mass production scheduled to begin in September.

A staffer works at a workshop of the SAIC new energy vehicles production base in Ningde, East China's Fujian province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]