East China`s Shandong province has achieved remarkable progress in improving its economy and people`s livelihoods during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) period.

The province`s gross domestic product has increased 13.1 percent annually, reaching 3.94 trillion yuan ($607 billion) in 2010.

Fixed assets investment totaled 2.33 trillion yuan, presenting an annual increase of 22.5 percent.

Shandong has also adjusted its agricultural, industrial, and service sectors.

Last year the grain output was 43.35 million tons and the added value from the industrial sector reached 2 trillion yuan, while the added value from the service sector was 1.43 trillion yuan.

Under the 11th Five-Year Plan the province generated close to $700 billion of foreign trade, an annual increase of 19.2 percent.

The Shandong government approved 11,000 foreign-backed enterprises, representing a total contractual investment of $60.47 billion.

Investment in infrastructure has provided a solid foundation for Shandong`s economic development.

Over the last five years, the province has built 438 kilometers of railway and 1,122 km of highway. The total length of highway is now 4,285 km.

The throughput of Shandong`s ports was 920 million tons by 2010.

The province has also attached great importance to innovation to develop hi-tech industries. Shandong now has three institutions affiliated to Chinese Academy of Sciences, 26 research centers for engineering technology, 21 State-class labs and 29 quality test centers. These have helped the output value from Shandong`s high-tech industries increase 30 percent annually.

People`s lives have also improved with the economic development. Per capita income for urban residents reached 19,800 yuan, an annual increase of 10.5 percent. For rural residents the Per capita income was 6,850 yuan, an annual increase of 8.4 percent.

The Shandong government has added 5 million urban jobs, and improved the lives of over 7 million laborers in rural areas under the 11th Five-Year Plan.