Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, has maintained relatively high economic growth in the first half of this year, according to Chengdu Statistics Bureau.

The city's GDP reached 484.2 billion yuan ($ 77.5 billion) in the first six months, an increase of 8.7 percent year-on-year. The above-scale industrial added value increased 12 percent, ranking first among China's 15 sub-provincial cities.

The rapid growth in the auto and IT sectors, 27 percent and 16.9 percent respectively, has been the main driving force in Chengdu's economy.

Foreign investment is playing a more important role in Chengdu's development. The city brought in 95 new foreign investment projects in the first half of this year, and utilized $5.1 billion in overseas investment.

"We expect a total of 260 Fortune Global 500 companies to locate in Chengdu by the end of this year," said Chen Fu, deputy director of Chengdu Investment Promotion. Chengdu was home to 255 Fortune Global 500 companies by the end of June.

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