Jilin's economy maintained robust growth in the first half of this year, said Cheng Jianhua, vice-director of the provincial statistics bureau, at a news conference hosted by the government of this northeastern province.

According to preliminary calculations, the province's gross domestic product touched 188.1 billion yuan in the first six months, increasing by 17.3 percent year-on-year, with both the total economic volume and economic growth rate hitting historic highs.

The industrial economy has seen rapid growth, with industrial enterprises of considerable scale realizing a total incremental value of 87.36 billion yuan, while light and heavy industries realized a balanced development - growth rates for both reaching 24.4 percent year-on-year.