Since the reform and opening up, China's economy has achieved rapid development, and the eastern coastal areas have attracted a large amount of foreign capital and advanced technology by virtue of their unique geographical location, and have become the locomotive to promote China's economic growth. As the second largest echelon of China's economic development, the central region has always carried the expectations of the people of the whole country, hoping that it can become a new engine to promote China's sustained economic growth after the east. However, the release of the latest GDP data of the central provinces has poured cold water on the people of the whole country, who originally expected the rise of the central region, but the reality is disappointing!
Henan, the economic leader in the central region, as the fifth largest province in the country's total economic output, will fail to exceed 6 trillion yuan in GDP in 2023, only 59,1323.9 billion yuan, an increase of only 4 percent year-on-year1%。This shows that Henan Province will lose its position as the fifth largest economy in the country and be surpassed by Sichuan. Although Hunan Province will break through the 5 trillion yuan mark in 2023, it will reach 50,0128.5 billion yuan, but the economic growth rate is only 46%。The economic growth rate of Jiangxi Province and Shanxi Province is even more sluggish, with 41% and 5%. Only Anhui and Hubei provinces are slightly better, exceeding the national average GDP growth rate.
The reasons behind the sluggish economic growth in most central provinces and the failure to achieve the goal of rising are worth pondering. First of all, the weak development of the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta regions is obviously a direct factor. As we all know, the central provinces have been undertaking the industrial transfer of economically developed coastal provinces and cities (such as the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta), which is regarded as a key support point for the rise of the central region. However, surprisingly, in 2023, the development of provinces and cities in the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta has shown obvious weakness. Not only have they failed to meet their expected growth targets, but they have dragged down their overall development and failed to meet the national average.
Taking Guangdong in the Pearl River Delta as an example, although the total GDP in 2023 exceeded 13 trillion yuan, reaching 135673With 1.6 billion yuan, it is still the largest economic province in the country, but the economic growth rate has only increased by 4 percent year-on-year8%。This is well below the national average of 52% economic growth. Similarly, Shanghai, as the national economic center, has a GDP of 472 trillion yuan, GDP growth rate of 5%. This growth rate is not only lower than the 5The 5% target is still lower than the national 5The average growth level of 2% is really surprising.
This weak development trend is not only surprising, but more importantly, it is bound to have a far-reaching impact on the industrial transfer and investment promotion of the central provinces. That's the first reason. This unsatisfactory development performance has prompted us to review the industrial structure and economic growth model, forcing the central provinces to find new development paths in terms of industrial upgrading and attracting investment.
The central provinces are in the first.
First, there are some challenges in the secondary sector. Although these regions account for a large proportion of primary industries such as agriculture, many are large agricultural provinces and are also important grain producing areas, such as wheat in Henan, Dongting Lake Plain in Hunan, and Poyang Lake Plain in Jiangxi, where agricultural products such as rice and rice are mainly produced. However, a clear trend in the first half of the year was the frequent occurrence of natural disasters, such as rains and floods. Since agriculture is mainly dependent on the weather, although manual means can intervene to a certain extent, agriculture is still greatly affected by the weather. As a result, agricultural production in the central provinces was significantly lower than expected last year.
Taking Henan Province as an example, the total economic output of the primary industry will only increase by 1 year year-on-year in 20238%, while in 2022, the year-on-year growth was 48%。This is a drop of 3 percentage points, which has brought a considerable drag on the overall economic growth of Henan Province. The economic added value of the primary industry in Hunan Province also increased by only 3 percent year-on-year5%。From these data, it can be seen that the added value of primary industries such as agriculture is far lower than the total economic growth rate of these provinces themselves, and even lower than the total economic growth rate of the whole country. This will inevitably lead to a drag on the overall economic growth of these provinces.
On the whole, the economic growth rate of most central provinces is much lower than expected, and at the same time lower than the national economic growth rate, which is actually understandable. First of all, China's economy has shifted from a stage of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development, and economic growth will naturally slow down. Secondly, there is a gap between the central region and the eastern coastal areas in terms of industrial structure, scientific and technological innovation, and personnel training, which also restricts the economic development of the central region. Thirdly, the development of the central region has also been affected by force majeure factors such as natural disasters.
However, the economic woes of the central region do not mean that there is no way out. On the contrary, this is the opportunity for the transformation and upgrading of the central region and the realization of its rise. As long as we seize the opportunity, speed up the adjustment of the industrial structure, promote scientific and technological innovation, and strengthen the cultivation of qualified personnel, the central region has the potential to become a new engine for China's economic development.
In the future, the central region should make full use of its own resource advantages, increase investment in infrastructure construction, improve the level of transportation, logistics, information and other infrastructure, and create a good environment for economic development. At the same time, the central region should also increase scientific and technological innovation, cultivate emerging industries, promote the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and improve the level of the industrial chain. In addition, the central region should also strengthen the cultivation and introduction of talents, improve the quality of talents, and provide strong human support for economic development.
In short, the economic predicament of the central region is certainly disappointing, but as long as we strengthen our confidence and actively respond to it, the development prospects of the central region are still broad. Let us work together to promote the rise of the central region and inject new vitality into China's sustained economic growth. The rise of the central region will not only promote the development of the central region, but also inject new vitality into the comprehensive development of China's economy and realize the comprehensive prosperity of China's economy.