【Epoch Times July 25, 2024】23 out of the 31 provinces in China have released their economic performance for the first half of the year, with 16 provinces falling short of their annual GDP growth targets.
As reported by “First Financial Daily,” by July 24, 23 provinces had disclosed their economic performance for the first half of the year. Among them, 7 provinces exceeded their annual GDP growth targets, while the remaining 16 provinces fell below their annual targets.
Among the 16 provinces with growth rates below the annual targets, the growth rates of Hainan, Tibet, Hunan, Yunnan, Guangdong, and Xinjiang were lower by more than 1% compared to the annual goals. For instance, Hainan only saw a GDP growth rate of 3.1% in the first half of the year, far below the targeted 8% growth for the year.
The 7 provinces that exceeded their annual growth targets are: Jiangsu, Beijing, Tianjin, Inner Mongolia, Chongqing, Zhejiang, and Fujian.
Of particular note is Guangdong, a major economic province.
On July 23, the Statistical Bureau of Guangdong Province released its half-year economic report. In the first half of the year, Guangdong’s gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to 6.5245 trillion yuan, with a year-on-year growth of 3.9%, falling short of the annual target of 5%. The overall economic growth was sluggish, with both investment and consumption showing weak performance, while only exports remained relatively stable.
Peng Peng, Executive President of the Guangdong Provincial Reform Research Institute, told the media that the contraction in the real estate sector significantly weighed on Guangdong’s economy, especially in industries such as household appliances, home furnishings, and building materials.
According to the “First Financial Daily,” Zheng Tiancheng, Deputy Director of the Enterprise and Market Research Center at the China (Shenzhen) Comprehensive Development Research Institute, pointed out that insufficient domestic demand is a significant factor hindering faster economic development. It is necessary to intensify efforts to enhance economic policies aimed at boosting domestic demand, providing more momentum for economic growth at the demand side, accelerating the exploration of residents’ consumption potential, restoring market expectations, enabling the middle-income group to consume with confidence. Increase urban residents’ income so that low-income groups have the purchasing power to consume; increase the supply of urban consumer products to meet the consumption needs of high-income groups.