Recent data reveals China's economic landscape is undergoing significant shifts as two major provinces achieve milestone GDP figures. Jiangsu Province announced its GDP will surpass 14 trillion yuan this year, becoming the second province after Guangdong to cross this threshold. Meanwhile, Shandong is set to become China's third and the northern region's first 10 trillion yuan GDP province, marking the first expansion of this elite economic club in five years since Jiangsu joined in 2020.
Shandong's economic presence has grown substantially, with its GDP rising from 7.44 trillion yuan in 2020 to 9.86 trillion yuan in 2024. The province has successfully transformed its industrial structure, reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by 18.5% over four years while increasing high-tech industry output to 55.2% of total industrial production. Its achievements in emerging industries are equally impressive, leading the nation in strategic emerging industry clusters and manufacturing champions.
The province plans further expansion, aiming to develop three additional cities - Weifang, Linyi, and Jining - into trillion-yuan GDP cities, which would give Shandong six such cities total. Currently, Qingdao and Jinan serve as dual economic hubs, with Qingdao potentially challenging Tianjin for the title of "Northern China's Second City" as their GDP gap narrows to under 5 billion yuan.
Nationally, Guangdong remains China's top provincial economy, having exceeded 14 trillion yuan in 2024 and approaching 15 trillion. Zhejiang is projected to join the 10 trillion club by 2026, bringing total membership to four provinces. Together, these economic powerhouses account for over one-third of China's total GDP and would rank among the world's top 20 economies individually.
Beyond the top four, six other provinces have surpassed 5 trillion yuan GDP, demonstrating China's multi-polar economic development pattern where different regions leverage their comparative advantages to drive sustainable national growth.
Comments