Shanghai’s economy grew slower than the national average in the first half of the year. The chief economist at the Shanghai Bureau of Statistics tells China Business News that the sluggish half year was just a momentary blip.Shanghai’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 10.3%, 0.1 percentage point slower than the national average, to US$95.63 billion (RMB653.07 billion) in the first half of the year. The consumer price index (CPI) was up 7.1% year-on-year over the period. Fixed-asset investment totaled US$28.88 billion (RMB197.25 billion) over the period, up just 2.3%, 7.3 percentage points slower than a year earlier. US$9.75 billion (RMB66.61 billion) was invested in infrastructure in the first half, up 9.8% year-on-year; US$9.42 billion (RMB64.33 billion) was invested in the real estate market, up 3.8% year-on-year; and US$7.95 billion (RMB54.31 billion) was invested in the manufacturing industry, down 7.8% year-on-year. “It was the first time Shanghai’s economic growth was slower than the national economy as a whole,” Cai Xuchu, chief economist at the Shanghai Bureau of Statistics, said. “But this will be momentary as ...