As China's total economic output surpassed the 140 trillion yuan milestone, the country's urban and regional economies have also achieved new breakthroughs—the number of "5 trillion-yuan cities" and "10 trillion-yuan provinces" has expanded once again.
Beijing's economic aggregate has exceeded 5 trillion yuan for the first time, becoming China's second "5 trillion-yuan city" after Shanghai.
Shandong's economy has surpassed the 10 trillion yuan mark for the first time, following Guangdong and Jiangsu to become the third province with an annual GDP exceeding 10 trillion yuan.
Dalian and Wenzhou have both crossed the trillion-yuan threshold in economic output. This brings the total number of "trillion-yuan cities" nationwide to 29.
These milestones represent more than just numerical increases; they vividly demonstrate the resilience and high-quality development of the Chinese economy amid complex circumstances, serving as clear evidence of the upward trajectory in China's urban and regional development.
Some observers note that the "high-water marks" for China's urban and regional economies are being continuously reset, with new economic highlands emerging across the development landscape.
A comparative perspective offers more intuitive understanding: "10 trillion-yuan provinces" now rank among the world's top 15 economies, demonstrating considerable strength; while Beijing and Shanghai, as China's "5 trillion-yuan cities," rank within the global top 10 urban economies, with their influence and presence rising correspondingly.
While the expansion of economic aggregates is encouraging, the improvement in development quality is even more valuable.
Consider Beijing, the newly-minted "5 trillion-yuan city," where two dynamic trajectories underpin its self-transcendence.
One is the industrial structure upgrade trajectory: the three engines of new quality productive forces—information services, scientific and technological services, and advanced manufacturing—are roaring ahead, increasing their share of GDP by 6 percentage points over five years. The information services sector in particular has maintained growth that crosses a hundred-billion-yuan threshold annually.
The other is the innovation density trajectory: in recent years, Beijing's intensity of R&D investment in the whole society has remained stable at around 6%, ranking among the top global innovation cities, with an average of over 300 technology companies established daily. By comparison, the average R&D intensity for cities in the European Union is approximately 2%.
These two trajectories also reflect China's firm strides in advancing high-quality economic development.
Over the past five years, China's new quality productive forces have grown steadily, with its innovation index ranking breaking into the global top ten for the first time. The value-added of large-scale high-tech manufacturing has maintained an average annual growth of 9.2%, while digital technologies like artificial intelligence and 5G have flourished, empowering numerous industries.
Entering the new development stage, the factor conditions, combination methods, and allocation efficiency of China's economic development are improving daily, accumulating powerful momentum for future growth.
Many analysts believe that with its vigorous economic momentum, China demonstrates the strongest development certainty among major world economies, making continued growth in economic aggregate unquestionable. In this process, more cities will cross the "trillion-yuan" threshold and more provinces will surpass the "ten trillion-yuan" mark.
Expanding the economic "pie" remains key to solving development challenges. Meanwhile, the expansion of economic scale is continuously translating into tangible gains in people's livelihoods. China's economic growth is becoming more perceptible and understandable through the happiness of countless households and the warmth of daily life in communities.
In Shandong, behind the 10 trillion-yuan economic scale lies the fact that over 75% of fiscal expenditures are consistently directed toward livelihood areas such as education, healthcare, and social security.
In Beijing, "5 trillion yuan" signifies not just the concentration of high-tech industries, but also steady growth in resident incomes, continuous consumption upgrades, and ongoing renewal of public service facilities.
In newly-minted "trillion-yuan cities" like Dalian and Wenzhou, economic growth is transforming into more inclusive public services and urban renewal, allowing every citizen to feel improvements "right at their doorstep."
The ultimate goal of economic development is the comprehensive development of people. The true significance of continuously crossing trillion-yuan thresholds lies not only in making China's economic foundation more stable and resilient to risks, but also in enabling better personal growth and more fully satisfying people's pursuit of happy lives.
From provinces to cities, from aggregate breakthroughs to structural optimization, this trillion-yuan advancement represents both the confidence of a major economy and the original aspiration of development for the people.
Standing at the starting point of the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, with different regions leveraging their respective strengths and working in concert, powerful development momentum continues to converge, promising to present more vibrant and flourishing scenes of the times for China's economy.
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