BEIJING — China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has continued to witness development progress in 2019, mainly driven by inclusive and green growth, official data showed.

Its regional development index stood at 167.72 points in 2019, up 7.59 points from the previous year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Sub-readings of shared development and green development led the overall surge in the index, which gained 11.51 and 17.81 points from the 2018 level, respectively, said the NBS.

The bureau attributed the growth to advancement in the sharing of basic public services and poverty reduction in the region, as well as further coordinated efforts in ecological environment improvement.

In terms of the region's air quality, the average density of PM2.5, fine particulate matter that causes smog, fell 9.1 percent from the previous year.

The region also enjoyed stronger innovation-backed growth in the period, with the sub-reading for innovative development up 4.72 points.

In 2019, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region saw research and development spending up 13.9 percent year-on-year to 326.14 billion yuan (about $47.89 billion), while the ratio of research and development spending to the gross domestic product reached 3.86 percent, said the NBS.

China rolled out a plan in 2015 for the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei. Progress has been made in many fields including environmental protection, public services, and transport.