Chinese cities aim high on 2023 GDP, but hitting loftier targets seen depending on actual policies

Some of China’s major economic engines expect their economic growth rates to return to pre-pandemic levels after country left its disruptive zero-Covid policy in 2022

China is expected to confirm its 2022 GDP growth next week, along with other key economic data including retail sales

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Shanghai’s Pudong New Area has set an economic growth target of 7 per cent for 2023. Photo: Thomas Yau

Published: 8:00pm, 9 Jan 2023Updated: 11:09am, 18 Jan 2023

Chinese cities are setting higher economic growth targets for this year, compared with the actual growth seen last year, as China’s central bank has vowed supportive financial policies to aid economic recovery.

Several cities with gross domestic products (GDPs) of more than 1 trillion yuan (US$148 billion) last year, including Zhengzhou, Changsha and Guangzhou, have revealed 2023 growth targets ranging between 5.5 and 7 per cent.

Compared with their 2022 goals, several cities have slightly lowered their growth targets for 2023, but these are still higher than the actual growth witnessed last year amid the weak economic momentum and disruptive zero-Covid policy.

Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province in southern China, released a 2023 GDP growth target of 6 per cent, anticipating a strong rebound after its growth during the first three quarters of 2022 was just 2.3 per cent, according to local media.

Zhengzhou, the provincial capital of Henan in central China, set its growth target at 7 per cent for 2023 after its actual economic growth was around 2 per cent last year, according to the statistics released by the local government.