Beijing Joins ¥1 Trillion Club in First Half of 2018

By Adam Robbins, August 9, 2018

In the first half of 2018, the GDP of Beijing has passed the one trillion mark, according to Asia Times, citing a report from The Paper. Three other major cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen also joined the exclusive club.

Shanghai reported the strongest GDP of RMB1.6 trillion (USD230 billion), followed by Beijing in second place with RMB1.4 trillion (USD200 billion).

Shenzhen edged out Guangzhou for the number three spot for the first time, with RMB1.1 trillion (USD160 billion). That follows earlier reports that the 'Chinese Silicon Valley' had surpassed its provincial capital in overall wealth after 2016 numbers were revised.

China’s first special economic zone has flourished with a reported 8 percent growth, the highest among the top four cities. That’s been driven by a heated real estate market (up 16.7 percent) and online services that report a 37 percent jump in operating income. Tencent, the Shenzhen-based behemoth behind WeChat, brought in RMB73.53 billion (USD11.5 billion) in the first quarter of 2018 alone.

Though Guangzhou slipped to fourth place with RMB1.1 trillion (USD155 billion), its position among the top four seems assured. Other provincial capitals report growth rates of higher than eight percent, but analysts consider those mainly short-term effects from new high-speed rails and the regional connections they've spurred.

Growth in Guangzhou, like the other top four cities, is instead credited to expanding innovation capacity.

[Image via Jens Schott Knudsen/Flickr]