China GDP: Guangdong, Henan among provinces to fall short of national average in first half of 2023

16 of mainland China’s 31 provincial-level jurisdictions fell short of recording economic growth above the national average of 5.5 per cent in the first half of the year

Slower growth in the manufacturing hub of Guangdong underlined the problems faced by Beijing to aid the post-Covid recovery

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Weak overseas demand and a fragile property market continued to weigh on the post-Covid recovery. Photo: AP

Published: 7:39pm, 31 Jul 2023

Just over half of China’s provincial-level jurisdictions, including the economic growth driver of Guangdong, fell short of recording growth above the national average in the first half of the year, underlining the problems faced by Beijing to aid the post-Covid recovery.

A number of mainland China’s 31 provincial-level jurisdictions that previously drove the national economy, including the manufacturing hub of Guangdong, as well as Henan, Fujian and Sichuan, were among the 14 provinces that fell short of the national gross domestic product average of 5.5 per cent in the first six months of 2023.

Weak overseas demand and a fragile property market continued to weigh on the post-Covid recovery, and like the national figure, the provincial figures were also aided by a coronavirus lockdown-induced low base last year.

The uneven growth, which is expected to remain in the short term, highlights the need for policy intervention, including the measures released by Beijing in the past month to alleviate external pressure and boost domestic demand.

Guangdong is China’s biggest provincial economy, but its gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5 per cent in the first six month of the year compared to the same period last year.

It was hit by the dwindling export demand as consumers in the world’s major economies are increasingly wary of spending amid recession fears.

Its capital of Guangzhou also reported a slower GDP growth than the provincial average, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the depressed property sector and disappointing car sales, said Peng Peng, executive chairman of the Guangdong Society of Reform, a think tank connected to the provincial government.