The added value created by primary industry had grown to 4.298 billion yuan in 2018, an increase of more than 250 times the 1949 figure of 17 million yuan ($2.42 million).

The added value from industrial output had surged to 64.65 billion yuan in 2018, an increase of over 10,000 times that of the 6 million yuan created in 1949.

The tertiary industrial sector has developed rapidly. In 2018, the added value it created had reached 17.52 billion yuan, an increase of 17,500 times that of 1949, and now represents the main driving force behind the city's continuing economic development.

As the above series of figures vividly illustrates, it is not difficult to see that in the 70 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Lanzhou's comprehensive economic strength has achieved a historic leap-forward.

Concerning the transformation of traditional industries, Lanzhou focuses on promoting the deep integration of industrialization and digitalization, advancing the utilization of new generation information technology in manufacturing industry, vigorously cultivating specialized new enterprises, and accelerating the development of industries and products to the medium- and high-end sectors in the value chain, with the purpose of reviving Lanzhou's manufacturing industry.

In the cultivation of emerging businesses, Lanzhou focuses on the top ten ecological sectors, and strengthens the development of highly advantageous industries such as  cultural tourism, logistics, data information, and biological medicine, accelerating the construction of an ecological industrial system with Lanzhou characteristics.

In 2019, Lanzhou issued a milestone document outlining the key points for the future development of strategic emerging industries in Lanzhou. It focuses on the development of seven crucial areas including high-end equipment manufacturing, biological medicine, modern information technology, new materials, energy conservation and environmental protection, new energy, and modern services.

Building on its policy and financial foundations, Lanzhou will foster a number of key enterprises, build innovative platforms, enhance industrial innovation capabilities, and implement a batch of key projects, forming a group of industrial clusters with complementary advantages and distinctive characteristics.

The requirements for the construction of highly advantageous industries, the refinement of collaborative innovation mechanisms for government affairs, production, teaching and research, the increase of fiscal and taxation support, the introduction of qualified expertise, and the opportunities for cooperation and exchange among countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and increased investment attraction are also advanced in the document.

The industrial foundation of Lanzhou was historically weak up until its identification as a key industrial city after the founding of the People's Republic of China.

After benefiting from the construction periods of the "First Five-Year Plan" (1953-1957), the "Second Five-Year Plan" (1958-1962) and the "Third Five-Year Plan" (1966-1970), Lanzhou had developed a model of industrialisation with refining, chemical engineering, electromechanical, metallurgical, military, energy, light textile and building materials at its core.

Since China's reform and opening-up, Lanzhou has resolutely developed and expanded its distinctive and advantageous industries, constantly adjusted and optimized the industrial structure, and shifted to new growth engines.

The main industrial structures have been optimized from an initial ratio of 52:18:30 in 1949 to a ratio of 2:34:64 in 2018 following the three periods of adjustment, achieving the historical transformation from agriculture as the leading industry to the coordinated restructuring of primary, secondary and tertiary industries.

The pace for the upgrading of traditional industries has been accelerated, and a modern industrialized system with relatively complete categories has been formed. Moreover, the strategically important, emerging industries have accelerated their growth, and the top ten ecological sectors such as logistics, data information, biological medicine and advanced manufacturing have experienced sound development, accounting for 15.81 percent of the total production value.