The influence that private enterprises have on the city's economy is on the rise and these enterprises are poised to play an even bigger role in the years ahead, said Qingdao officials.

In the first half of this year, the city's private investment increased by 16.5 percent, 4.3 percentage points higher than the same period last year, with an average growth of 14.3 percent in the two years, according to official statistics.

The eastern hub of Qingdao, Shandong province boasts a vibrant economy. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Private investment accounted for 58.8 percent of the city's total investment and contributed 79.4 percent to the city's investment growth.

Over the period, the import and export of private enterprises in Qingdao reached 264.77 billion yuan ($40.96 billion), up 45.8 percent year-on-year, accounting for 66.6 percent of the city's total foreign trade value.

The import and export value of the city's private enterprises to ASEAN, EU, the United States, South Korea and Japan were 54.21 billion yuan, 32.61 billion yuan, 30.01 billion yuan, 18.4 billion yuan and 16.47 billion yuan respectively, up by 85.9 percent, 25.4 percent, 47.5 percent, 69 percent and 11.9 percent respectively.

From January to June this year, there were 158,000 newly registered private market entities in Qingdao, accounting for 99.3 percent of the city's total number of newly registered market entities.

The registered capital of private economy increased by 493.28 billion yuan, accounting for 74.7 percent of the city's new registered capital.

During this period, the city's private economy generated a tax revenue of 69.56 billion yuan, up 30.9 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, it created 147,000 new jobs, down 4.6 percent year-on-year, with an average growth of 2 percent in two years.