Most Provinces Miss GDP Growth Targets

A rundown of the news making headlines in and around China:

Missing targets: Most Chinese provinces missed their 2024 GDP growth targets last year. A total of 21 failed to hit their targets, according to a Caixin analysis of data from 29 provinces disclosed as of Friday. Of China’s economic powerhouses, Sichuan and Henan both fell short. Tropical island Hainan missed its target by the greatest amount — 4.3 percentage points — due to its ambitious target of around 8% and a precipitous drop in retail spending. For this year, around half of the Chinese mainland’s 31 provinces have set their GDP targets lower than last year’s.