Several cities in China with more than CNY1 trillion in GDP in 2022 have issued their development plans for 2023, with some setting higher GDP growth targets. More cities have taken stimulating domestic demand and developing high-end manufacturing as key tasks in their work reports, in a bid to promote the development of high-end and intelligent manufacturing. Cities such as Jinan, Qingdao, Changsha, Hefei, Zhengzhou and Fuzhou all released 2023 GDP growth targets of between 5.5% and 7%. Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, set a GDP growth target of 7% in 2023, compared with around 2% in 2022. Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, also set a target of 7% growth for 2023, compared to 4.8% in 2022. The yearly targets were announced after the annual Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) held in December last year, as the meeting demanded that economic stability be made a top priority for 2023.
Efforts will also be made to speed up the planning and construction of a new-energy system, enhance the global competitiveness of traditional industries, accelerate the research and application of cutting-edge technologies, and vigorously develop the digital economy, according to the meeting. In a work report, the Hefei government in Anhui province said it will accelerate the expansion of the major industrial clusters of integrated circuits and artificial intelligence (AI), and also increase the development of new-energy vehicles and biomedicine. Phase one of the Anqing factory of Welling Auto Parts, which is owned by Midea Industry Technology and manufactures auto parts for NEVs, was officially put into production in Anqing, Anhui province on January 5. After increasing production capacity in late February, the factory will continue to pursue the goal of producing 1 million electric compressors, 1.2 million EPS motors and 200,000 drive motors a year.
Meanwhile, several cities also said they will continue to expand domestic demand and make greater investments in projects. Zhengzhou said it has set a target of CNY500 billion in infrastructure construction investment in 2023. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) convened a meeting on November 25, with senior officials again calling on local governments to speed up infrastructure construction on newly approved projects, the Global Times reports.
