(Yicai) July 30 -- Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen retained their positions as China's biggest economic powerhouses in the first half and Chongqing ranked fourth, once again surpassing Guangzhou due to its better-than-expected performance, according to regional gross domestic product data.

The GDPs of Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen were CNY2.23 trillion (USD307.1 billion), CNY2.18 trillion, and CNY1.73 trillion, respectively, with nominal year-over-year growth rates of 4.5 percent, 5.7 percent, and 6.2 percent. Shenzhen recorded the fastest growth in the top 10.

Chongqing, which is about 11 times as big as Guangzhou in terms of area, reported CNY1.51 trillion in GDP, exceeding CNY1.5 trillion for the first time. The southwest-central city beat the southern provincial capital (which logged a figure of CNY1.43 trillion) once again in the first half even though Guangzhou closed the gap in the second half of last year to come in fourth in the annual ranking.

From January to June, the added value of large industrial enterprises in Guangzhou fell 0.8 percent from a year ago, in contrast to the national average of a 6 percent gain. Among the city’s three pillar industries, automobile manufacturing shrank as its net output slumped by 16.4 percent.

The driving forces of productivity weakened in Guangzhou. Fixed-asset investment climbed 2 percent, lower than the 3.9 percent national average. The total retail sales of consumer goods amounted to CNY560.2 billion (USD77.1 billion), unchanged from a year ago and lower than the nationwide average of a 3.7 percent increase. Exports totaled CNY311.78 billion, down 4.1 percent instead of a general 6.9 percent boost.

Chongqing performed better than expected as its industrial added value jumped 8.6 percent, or 2.6 percentage points higher than the national average. More specifically, the output of electric vehicles surged by half to make the city once again China's biggest hub for car production. Fixed-asset investment increased by 2.6 percent, retail sales of consumer goods rose 3.9 percent to CNY768.5 billion, and exports climbed 2.8 percent to CNY235.88 billion. All these gauges turned out to be higher than those of Guangzhou.

Transformation

Major Chinese cities are facing pressures in their traditional industries but also a positive trend of rapid development of fields related to new quality productive forces, Zheng Tiancheng, deputy director of a center under a think tank called the China Development Institute, said in an interview with Yicai.

For example, Shenzhen notched the highest level of industrial growth as emerging sectors are developing rapidly. In the first half, the added value of big local manufacturers of computer, communication, and other electronic equipment soared by 17 percent, whereas the output of 3D printing, service robots, and electronic components surged by 83.3 percent, 37.6 percent, and 29.1 percent, respectively.

Guangzhou, a longstanding manufacturing hub in Guangdong, is having trouble transforming as the contraction in its pillar industry of car manufacturing proves. The city is likely to continue to feel the pinch so it is urgent for it to transform and upgrade to develop new quality productive forces, Zheng said.

Among the top 10 cities, service sectors generally slowed growth. Chongqing and Shanghai shared the No. 1 position with the quickest pace of 5.8 percent growth, meaning a 0.8 percentage point increase for the mountain city from a year ago and a 2.4 percentage point decrease for the eastern financial hub.

The tamed growth in services was mainly caused by a lack of market confidence, Zheng said. Some key segments, such as real estate, are under great pressure but producer and high-tech services still show a good trend. For example, the added value of Shanghai’s field of information transmission, software, and information technology services soared by 13.4 percent. That of Beijing’s information service industry widened by 12.4 percent. In Guangzhou and Wuhan, the related numbers for scientific research, as well as science and technology services grew 22.5 percent and 9.7 percent, respectively. These are big increases, Zheng said.

Eight of the top 10 cities recorded nominal GDP growth figures higher than the national average, Yicai learned. Just Nanjing and Guangzhou underperformed with 3.5 percent and 1.2 percent increases, respectively. Moreover, real GDP growth was higher than nominal growth in six of the top 10 cities, pointing to mild inflation.

China should next address deflation concerns from a broader perspective and encourage consumption, Zheng suggested.

Editor: Emmi Laine