With the release of the economic operation report cards of various regions in 2021, the top ten GDP ranking of ordinary prefecture level cities in Central China is released, which are Luoyang (544.71 billion yuan), Xiangyang (530.943 billion yuan), Yichang (502.269 billion yuan), Yueyang (440.298 billion yuan), Nanyang (434.222 billion yuan), Wuhu (430.263 billion yuan), Changde (405.41 billion yuan), Hengyang (384.031 billion yuan), Xuchang (365.54 billion yuan) Zhoukou (349.623 billion yuan).
The first financial reporter noted that under the national strategy of “the rise of central China”, the central provinces are not only implementing the “strategy of strengthening the provincial capital”, but also cultivating new drivers of economic development. For example, Hubei Province focused on regional coordinated development at the beginning of the Spring Festival this year, proposing not only to expand and strengthen Wuhan, but also to build Xiangyang and Yichang into leading cities in central and Western non provincial capitals, driving the “North-South array” to fly together; Henan also proposed to improve the functional status of Luoyang as a sub central city, bring Luoyang into the expanded Zhengzhou metropolitan area, and develop in a more coordinated linkage with Zhengzhou.
Experts pointed out that the central provinces are prone to tens of millions of people. Relying on only one provincial capital city to support economic development will not only lead to the ceiling of population, house prices, social services and environmental pollution in the provincial capital cities, but also lead to the unbalanced development of other regions in the province. Only by building the sub center of regional economic growth and the urban belt outside the sub center can we stimulate the maximum potential of factor resources and realize the sustainable and balanced development of the economy of the whole province.
ranking of top ten prefecture level cities in Central China
(unit: 100 million yuan, data source: local statistical bureaus)
the top ten ranking may change in the future
The first financial reporter found that among the top ten prefecture level cities in Central China in 2021, Henan accounted for up to 4 seats, namely Luoyang, Nanyang, Xuchang and Zhoukou; Hunan ranks second, accounting for 3 seats, respectively Yueyang, Changde and Hengyang; Hubei occupies two seats, ranking third, respectively Xiangyang and Yichang; None of the prefecture level cities in Jiangxi and Shanxi broke into the top ten. In 2021, the total GDP of three prefecture level cities in Central China exceeded 500 billion yuan, namely Luoyang, Xiangyang and Yichang.
In terms of increment, the top three cities are Yichang (76.127 billion yuan), Xiangyang (70.746 billion yuan) and Wuhu (54.961 billion yuan). The rapid development of these three cities may induce new changes in the top ten rankings.
Yichang is the second largest city along the Yangtze River in Hubei after Wuhan, and the chemical industry has always been the pillar industry of Yichang. However, in the past, the scattered layout, safety and environmental protection and other problems were more prominent, especially the “chemical River reclamation” posed a serious threat to the ecological security of the Yangtze River.
After the “regulation” of the great protection of the Yangtze River, Yichang chemical industry entered a period of deep transformation and upgrading, and the economic growth rate once fell. After three years of concentrated tackling, Yichang has successfully completed the task of “Customs reform, relocation and greening” of chemical enterprises along the river. The chemical industry has completely abandoned the old road dominated by factor investment. The proportion of fine chemicals in the chemical industry has increased from 18.6% before renovation to more than 36%, and economic development has returned to the fast lane. In 2021, Yichang’s nominal GDP growth rate reached 17.86%, ranking first among the top ten prefecture level cities in Central China.
Xiangyang, another of the top ten prefecture level cities in central Hubei, is a central city in the Hanjiang River Basin and a well-known automobile city in China. Although Xiangyang also maintained rapid growth, Yichang’s nominal GDP growth still exceeded Xiangyang by more than two percentage points. With the distance between Yichang and Xiangyang getting closer and closer, Hubei, the two provincial sub central cities, will stage a “dragon and tiger fight”.
Wuhu, with the third largest increment, is not only the second largest economic city in Anhui after Hefei, but also the port city along the Yangtze River with the largest throughput in the central region, with a developed shipping and logistics industry. In recent years, Wuhu is backed by the Yangtze River Delta, and modern manufacturing and high-tech industries have also developed vigorously. In contrast, Nanyang and Yueyang, which rank in the top two, are still dominated by traditional industries, lack of support from advantageous industries and weak growth of new drivers. It can be predicted that Wuhu will be more and more likely to surpass these two cities in the next year or two.
In addition, the competition for the first city in non provincial capital prefecture level cities in Central China is very tight. Xiangyang is close to Luoyang, and the total GDP of the two cities is only 13.7 billion yuan; In terms of nominal growth rate, Xiangyang reached 15.37%, while Luoyang was only 6.21%. Luoyang, an old industrial base, needs to strengthen its innovation ability and further strengthen the adjustment of industrial structure if it is to successfully defend its position.
new opportunities for sub central cities
In the new year, the central provinces have significantly increased their attention to non capital cities. First, Henan announced that Luoyang would be included in the “Zhengzhou metropolitan area 1 + 8”, and clearly proposed to support Luoyang in building a trillion level sub central city of the Central Plains urban agglomeration and an international consumption center city; Improving the quality and developing ZhengLuo new self creation zone, accelerating the construction of the national agricultural machinery equipment innovation center, and implementing projects such as Luoyang axis high-end Bearing Industrial Park will bring many policy dividends to Luoyang in the future to “build a strong sub center, form a growth pole and revitalize new brilliance”.
Long Zhigang, President of Henan Institute of transportation strategic development, believes that Zhengzhou and Luoyang are about 100 kilometers apart. It is planned to have two metropolitan areas of Zhengzhou and Luoyang. The expansion of Zhengzhou metropolitan area will make it easier to plan and arrange the project construction in the area after the part of Luoyang is included in Zhengzhou metropolitan area. For example, Chengdu and Chongqing are about 260 kilometers apart. On the basis of the existing Chengdu Chongqing urban agglomeration, Chengdu Chongqing dual city economic circle has been built. At the same time, Chengdu metropolitan circle and Chongqing metropolitan circle have been planned. The development of the two cities is closely connected and have different emphases.
Then the “first meeting” of Hubei Spring Festival also focused on regional coordinated development. In addition to emphasizing the province’s unwavering support for Wuhan to become bigger and stronger, Ying Yong, Secretary of the Hubei provincial Party committee, also highlighted: promoting Xiangyang to become a non provincial capital leading city in the central and western regions and a central city in the Han River Basin, Yichang to become a non provincial capital leading city in the central and western regions and a regional central city in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and promoting the integrated development of the two wing urban agglomeration of “Xiangshi following the gods” and “Yijing and Jingen”, Strive to become an important growth pole of national non provincial capital urban agglomeration, and build a “North-South array” to support the high-quality development of the province.
“Over the past 20 years, I have always called on Hubei to build ‘three circles and three belts’, and drive the development of Hubei through the three urban circles of Wuhan, Yichang and Xiangyang and the three belts of the Yangtze River, Hanjiang River and Qingjiang River.” Ye Qing, academic member of Pangu think tank and professor of Zhongnan University of economics and law, told the first finance reporter that in recent years, the provincial capital cities in the central and western regions have been too high. The gap between Wuhan, Xiangyang and Yichang, and between Chengdu and Mianyang can be seen. In contrast, the eastern coastal areas are basically “double center” development models. For example, Shenzhen, a non capital city in Guangdong, has surpassed Guangzhou, Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, has lost to Suzhou, a mainland city in Jiangsu Province, Qingdao in Shandong Province has surpassed Jinan, and Dalian in Liaoning Province has surpassed Shenyang.
Ye Qing believes that if the central and western regions want to realize the balanced and coordinated development of the whole region, they cannot rely on only one point, otherwise they will lack the vitality and stamina of development.
Yao Shujie, Secretary General of the Research Center for urbanization and regional innovation pole development and professor of Chongqing University, said in an interview with the first financial reporter that only by building a regional economic growth sub center and an urban belt outside the sub center can the central and western regions stimulate the maximum potential of factor resources in the Province and realize the sustainable and balanced development of the economy in the province.
Yao Shujie suggested that to promote the development of provincial urban circles, we should enhance the circulation and smooth flow capacity between regions. Among them, we should not only completely break the geographical and traffic barriers between regions, but also promote the “soft smooth flow” of institutional mechanisms, overall policies and ideas, and promote the co urbanization development of labor force, population, capital and technology in the urban circle, Expand the choice space and flexibility for the landing of production factors, create a new pattern of three-dimensional circulation of production factors with high efficiency, and accelerate the formation of a pattern of multipolar support and multi-point force of “strong core, strong circle, cluster and county”.
