This infographic represents GDP of all Chinese provinces at constant prices in 2022. The scattered dots show year-on-year GDP growth rate for 2022. The blue line depicts national GDP average growth rate for the same period whereas dotted line indicate targeted GDP growth rates declared by 31 provinces for 2023. As per this data, there are 18 provinces which registered GDP growth rates above national average of 2.8%. Amongst these, neighbouring provinces of Fujian and Jiangxi achieved highest growth rate of 4.7%, followed by Gansu and Hunan (both grew at 4.5%). On the other hand, Shanghai and Jilin had a negative growth rate in 2022 due to prolonged lockdowns which affected economic activities in these provinces. However, China’s four eastern provinces – Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong and Zhejiang (all provinces with GDP over $ 1 trillion) continue to contribute over 1/3rd of China’s GDP of around $ 18 trillion. This clearly shows regional disparities in China’s economic growth and indicates that eastern provinces still continue to drive China’s economy. Moreover, all provinces have projected positive growth rates for 2023 as the withdrawal Zero-Covid policy is expected to bring more economic opportunities for China’s provinces than in 2022. Although Hainan and Tibet have estimated substantially higher growth rates, it will not impact China’s national economy significantly due to their smaller economies. However, all major economic provinces have projected a modest growth rate of about 5% which will be crucial to bring the Chinese economy back on track in 2023.
Omkar Bhole is a Senior Research Associate at the Organisation for Research on China and Asia (ORCA). He has studied Chinese language up to HSK4 and completed Masters in China Studies from Somaiya University, Mumbai. He has previously worked as a Chinese language instructor in Mumbai and Pune. His research interests are India’s neighbourhood policy, China’s foreign policy in South Asia, economic transformation and current dynamics of Chinese economy and its domestic politics. He was previously associated with the Institute of Chinese Studies (ICS) and What China Reads. He has also presented papers at several conferences on China. Omkar is currently working on understanding China’s Digital Yuan initiative and its implications for the South Asian region including India. He can be reached at omkar.bhole@orcasia.org and @bhole_omkar on Twitter.
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