{"id":11658,"date":"2023-02-01T12:00:09","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T12:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/?p=11658"},"modified":"2025-04-23T09:34:23","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T09:34:23","slug":"examining-chinas-regional-gdp-growth-in-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focus.cbbc.org\/examining-chinas-regional-gdp-growth-in-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Examining China’s regional GDP growth in 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

China\u2019s regional GDP growth figures for 2022 offer a lot to reflect on after a difficult year, but with the country open again, there is much to look forward to in 2023, writes Tom Simpson<\/h2>\n

China\u2019s economy grew by 3% in 2022 according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, with H2 activity improving on the 2.5% growth in H1. While much higher than the figure recorded by the UK, this growth rate marks one of China\u2019s worst annual performances in nearly half a century.<\/p>\n

At the regional level, the GDP figures generally reflect the degree of impact of the zero covid policy (now a thing of the past<\/a>) on each region, in addition to other factors including exports and real estate.<\/p>\n

\"launchpad<\/a><\/p>\n

Beijing grew by 0.7% after experiencing heavy disruption from zero covid<\/a>. Restrictions tightened ahead of the 20th Party Congress in October and then tightened further as the virus spread in November.<\/p>\n

Shanghai\u2019s economy contracted by -0.2% for the year, reflecting the severity of the lockdown from March to June. The city\u2019s GDP fell by -13.7% in Q2 with Q3-4 activity failing to recover the drop.<\/p>\n

Former heavy industry giant Jilin fared worse, contracting by -1.9% after also experiencing heavy disruption from zero covid in early 2022. Jilin\u2019s GDP was also ultimately unable to recover from the -7.9% contraction in Q1.<\/p>\n

However, things were not all doom and gloom. Shandong (3.9%), Fujian (4.7%) and Jiangxi (4.7%), three provinces which avoided the worst of zero covid disruption, grew significantly above the national average. These provinces perhaps give an indication of the levels of growth we can expect in 2023 (the IMF is currently predicting the Chinese economy will grow by 5.2% in 2023).<\/p>\n