Since January 2022, with the exception of Tianjin, which has been delayed due to the epidemic, the other 30 regions have successively held the two sessions and issued government work reports. The work report of local governments reviewed the work in 2021 and put forward the main economic indicators, objectives and key tasks in 2022. The main concerns are as follows.
First, in 2021, all regions achieved the expected growth target at the beginning of the year, and the economic growth target in 2022 was generally lowered. Under the background of low base in 2020, the GDP of most regions achieved a rapid growth of more than 7% in 2021. Except Yunnan, Ningxia and Tibet, other regions achieved the expected growth target at the beginning of the year. Among them, Hubei ranked first in GDP growth in 2021 (12.9%) due to the significantly low base of the previous year (GDP decreased by 5%). From the two-year average growth rate, the GDP growth rate in most regions is still lower than the level before the epidemic, indicating that the local economy is still in the process of recovery. It is noteworthy that Hainan’s economic performance is outstanding, with an average GDP growth rate of 7.3% in two years, exceeding the growth level of 5.8% in 2019. In 2022, with the weakening of the base effect, the economic growth of all regions will further return to the normal level before the epidemic, and the GDP growth target of all regions will also be lowered, basically at 5.5% – 7%. Hainan has set the highest target of about 9%, which is related to the obvious enhancement of the driving role of the service industry under the background of policy support such as the construction of Hainan free trade port in recent years. The target setting of central and western regions is relatively high. The GDP of central provinces such as Henan, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hubei is expected to grow by about 7% or more, that of western regions such as Yunnan, Guizhou, Tibet and Ningxia is expected to grow by about 7% or 8%, that of other regions is set at 5.5%, 6% or 6.5%, and that of Beijing is the lowest, at more than 5%. The setting of these objectives not only considers the risks and challenges of economic operation under the uncertainty of the epidemic, but also considers the practical needs of convergence with the objectives of the 14th five year plan, potential economic growth level and stabilizing market expectations. Based on this, it is expected that China’s annual economic growth target in 2022 will be about 5.5%, and will strive for better results in practical work as far as possible.
Second, expanding effective investment and releasing consumer demand have become the key tasks of all localities in 2022. Faced with the triple pressure of shrinking demand, supply shock and weakening expectations, all regions have placed steady growth in a more important position. The external environment is becoming more complex and severe, and export growth is facing the pressure of slowing down. How to stimulate the potential of domestic demand has become one of the priorities of local layout. In terms of consumption, affected by factors such as the repeated epidemic and the slowdown of income growth, consumption recovered slowly in 2021, and the overall growth rate was only about half of that before the epidemic. In 2022, all regions proposed to actively cultivate new growth points of consumption, including promoting bulk consumption such as automobiles and oil products, encouraging home appliances to the countryside and exchanging old for new, promoting the consumption of new energy vehicles, cultivating consumption hotspots such as county and township, green, digital and sports, and supporting new consumption formats. Various regions have also put forward some measures with regional characteristics. For example, Beijing and Chongqing, which took the lead in the construction of international consumption center cities, respectively proposed to carry out “ten projects” such as in-depth special actions for international consumption center cities and improving the quality of international consumption carriers. In terms of investment, we mainly focus on major projects to promote investment in key areas such as “two new and one heavy”, urban renewal, technological transformation, ecological and environmental protection, basic people’s livelihood and modern agriculture. One belt, one road, is to seize the opportunity of the regional comprehensive economic partnership agreement, steadily expand the “one belt and one way” market along ASEAN, and promote the construction of cross-border electricity supplier pilot areas, so as to further enhance the level of trade and investment facilitation.
Third, we should pay more attention to scientific and technological innovation and industrial transformation and upgrading, and actively cultivate new drivers of economic growth. In the new era, all regions continue to promote the implementation of the new development concept, with particular emphasis on innovation driven leading high-quality development. First, based on the basic advantages of local scientific research institutes and talents, increase financial support and improve basic research capacity. At the same time, strengthen the main role of enterprise innovation and promote the transformation and application of scientific and technological achievements. Second, focus on improving the core competitiveness of the manufacturing industry. On the one hand, it emphasizes supplementing, extending and strengthening the chain. Guangdong, Zhejiang, Shaanxi, Shanxi and other regions have proposed to cultivate “chain owner” enterprises in the industrial chain, single champion enterprises in the manufacturing industry and specialized and special new enterprises. On the other hand, efforts should be made to promote the development of industrial clusters. For example, Guangdong proposes to promote the construction of 20 strategic industrial clusters; Hebei proposes to build two trillion level industries of steel and equipment manufacturing, revitalize characteristic industrial clusters in 107 key counties, and implement the development project of strategic emerging industrial clusters. Third, make clear arrangements for the development of digital economy. The national “14th five year plan” has pointed out the direction for the development of China’s digital economy. The outbreak of the epidemic has further accelerated the digital transformation of economy and society. The digital economy has also become one of the priorities of local economic work deployment. It mainly includes accelerating the construction of digital information infrastructure; Accelerate the development of digital creativity and data service industry; Promote the application of digital technology and promote the digital transformation of key industries.
Fourth, pay attention to the integrated development of major regional strategies and urban circles, and strengthen regional coordinated development. With the promotion and implementation of major regional strategies such as the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, the development of the Yangtze River economic belt, the construction of the Great Bay area of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, all relevant regions actively plan to strengthen regional cooperation and optimize economic layout. For example, Beijing proposed to fully support the construction of xiong’an new area, accelerate the construction of a modern capital metropolitan area, create “Beijing Tianjin Hebei on track”, and deepen the coordinated governance of regional ecological environment; Anhui proposes to strengthen cooperation with Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang in key fields, promote the implementation of key coordination and deepening matters, strengthen the connection with Shanghai’s open platform, and deeply build the Yangtze River Delta scientific and technological innovation community; Guangdong proposes to strengthen the connection of rules and mechanisms, further promote the construction of “Bay Area Connection” project and “digital Bay Area”, accelerate the construction of “Dawan area on track”, and promote the construction of Hengqin Guangdong Macao deep cooperation zone at a high level. In addition, all localities have also actively promoted the construction of metropolitan areas and urban agglomerations to enhance regional competitiveness and influence. For example, Hubei proposes to expand and strengthen Wuhan city circle and accelerate the construction of the most dynamic, competitive, influential and comprehensive provincial city circle in China; Shaanxi proposes to actively implement the “14th five year plan” of Guanzhong Plain Urban Agglomeration and the development plan of Xi’an metropolitan area to speed up the construction of Xi’an National Central City; Sichuan proposes to comprehensively speed up the construction of Chengdu Chongqing dual city economic circle, and implement the outline of Chengdu Chongqing dual city economic circle construction plan and key special plans.
