GDP Photo:VCG

China's 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have announced their GDP growth targets for 2022. Among them, nine provinces have set their GDP growth targets at more than 7 percent, striving to maintain stable development.

South China's Hainan Province set their 2022 GDP growth rate at 9 percent. In 2021, Hainan's GDP posted a stellar expansion of 11.2 percent, ranking second in the country. Analysts attributed the rapid growth to vigorous free trade port construction in Hainan, aiming to build the southern island province into a globally-influential high-level free trade port by the middle of the century.

Among the 31 provinces, three including Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and Central China's Henan set their economic growth targets this year higher than 2021.

In 2022, Xizang set a GDP growth target of 8 percent, one percentage point higher than its economic growth rate in 2021; Ningxia's GDP will stand at 7 percent and its economic growth rate in 2021 reached 6.7 percent.

Henan, affected by the floods in summer 2021, recorded an economic growth of 6.3 percent last year, and the province set a growth target of 7 percent for 2022, showing the province's firm determination to overcome the impact of flooding and achieve quick economic rebound, which "is conducive to guiding expectations, boosting confidence and gathering strength, but also requires hard work to accomplish," according to its government work report.

Amid the country's economic pressure in 2022, many provinces strive to achieve a stable development this year, setting their economic growth targets for 2022 lower than the actual GDP growth rate in 2021.

Tianjin and Beijing both set their GDP growth targets at above 5 percent and the country's major economic provinces including South China's Guangdong, East China's Jiangsu and Shandong will gain a GDP growth of 5.5 percent this year.

Analysts said that stable economic growth targets will help the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, undergo structural adjustment and address economic uncertainty.

Despite setting a specific target, a number of provinces including Central China's Hubei and North China's Shanxi said they will strive for better results.

In 2021, Hubei's economic growth rate of 12.9 percent surged to the top of the country, recovering from the pandemic. This year, Hubei set a growth target of about 7 percent.

Shanxi, one of the country's major coal producers, recorded a GDP growth rate of 9.1 percent in 2021. The province set its 2022 GDP target at 6.5 percent, saying that it will ramp up efforts to strive for better results.

Global Times