Weekend Long Read: China’s Regional Economies Underperform During 2023’s Fragile Recovery

More than half of the Chinese mainland’s 31 provincial-level regions missed their GDP targets last year, dragged down by lower prices, a protracted property market slump and a mounting local government debt crisis.

A breakdown by region shows that China’s developed coastal provinces carried the economy through its fragile post-pandemic recovery last year. Nominal GDP growth reached 5.1% in eastern provinces, while the west was close behind with 4.6% and the northeast 3.7%. All outpaced the country’s central region, where GDP growth came in at 3.3%.