Some Chinese provinces set GDP growth targets for 2021
January 26, 2021 Category China News Round-up, Weekly
Despite the fact that there are still sporadic outbreaks of Covid-19 in several provinces in China, many of them still set GDP growth targets for this year, although analysts don’t expect the central government to set a national GDP growth target during the upcoming session of the National People’s Congress (NPC) in March.
So far, at least half a dozen provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have released specific growth targets for 2021, with traditional economic powerhouses setting lower targets compared to emerging growth areas in the central and western regions. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong are aiming for a growth target above 6% in 2021. Central China’s Hubei, whose economy was hit hard by the Covid-19 epidemic, has set a growth target of above 10% for the year, while Tibet set a target of over 9% and Shanxi province over 8%.
All of the local growth targets that have been released are substantially higher than actual growth in 2020. For example, a 10% growth in 2021 for Hubei would be a growth of 15 percentage points from a 5% contraction in 2020, while a 6% growth for Beijing would be 4.8 percentage points from a 1.2% growth in 2020. “There is no doubt that the economy will continue on a solid recovery path in 2021, as indicated in the local growth targets; however, there is also caution in these targets,” Tian Yun, Vice Director of the Beijing Economic Operation Association, told the Global Times, noting that many economic powerhouses are setting notably lower targets than estimated growth for the national economy by many domestic and global institutions. In its latest report on global economic prospects released on January 5, the World Bank forecast that the Chinese economy would grow by 7.9%, while other institutions expect that growth would reach 8.5% in 2021. Both are higher than the targets set by the local governments of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong. While the Chinese economy recorded a 2.3% growth in 2020 amid an unprecedentedly tough year supported by solid export figures, consumption – the main growth driver – remained under heavy pressure with retail sales dropping 3.9% year-on-year in 2020.
Guangdong province achieved a GDP growth of 2.3% year-on-year in 2020. The province’s GDP surpassed the CNY11 trillion mark in 2020 for the first time, a jump from CNY7.5 trillion in 2015, ranking it No 1 for the 32nd year among all Chinese provincial-level regions in terms of economic output, Guangdong’s Governor Ma Xingrui said. Guangdong’s 2020 GDP was equivalent to that of South Korea. Guangdong’s foreign trade totaled CNY7.08 trillion last year, ranking first in the country and accounting for 22% of China’s total trade. Exports increased 0.2%, the fourth consecutive year of growth. Shanghai’s economy grew 1.7% in 2020. The economic growth targeted for this year is more than 6%. Beijing’s government aims to increase the city’s GDP by 6% this year in a green way, make the digital sector a new driving force and develop cutting-edge technologies including artificial intelligence, quantum technology, integrated circuits, new materials and life sciences, Mayor Chen Jining said while delivering the annual municipal government work report. Per capita GDP is expected to reach CNY210,000 in 2025 when China’s 14th Five Year Plan period concludes.
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