(Yicai) Jan. 21 -- All but one of China’s 31 provincial-level regions have given economic growth goals of 5 percent or higher for this year, and some economically developed provinces are even aiming for more than 5.5 percent, according to their government work reports released during the regional Two Sessions recently convened across the country.

Tibet Autonomous Region is the most ambitious with a gross domestic product growth target of above 7 percent. The western region will even strive to reach 8 percent, it said in the work report published during its Two Sessions, which are annual meetings of the region's political and legislative advisory bodies.

Hainan province in the south, Chongqing municipality in the southwest, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the west, Hubei province in central China and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the north have all fixed goals of 6 percent or higher.

Only Qinghai province in the west has set its growth target at below 5 percent at around 4.5 percent.

Guangdong, the province with the largest economy, is aiming for growth of around 5 percent, which is consistent with the target set last year. The southern province’s GDP is expected to rank first in the country for the 36th consecutive year in 2024, topping CNY14 trillion (USD1.9 trillion), according to its recent government work report.

Eastern Jiangsu and Shandong provinces, which are the country’s second and third largest economies, are aiming for growth of more than 5 percent, same as last year. While other provinces with big economies, including Zhejiang in the southeast, Sichuan in the southwest and Henan and Hunan in the center of the country, have all given growth forecasts of 5.5 percent.

When it comes to how to achieve these targets, local governments have put expanding investment and bolstering consumption as their main focus this year.

The Guangdong provincial government, for example, is proposing boosting demand on all fronts, effectively unleashing the potential of consumption and investment, expanding the scope of the consumer goods trade-in and large equipment upgrade policies and spurring infrastructure construction projects in key areas, according to its work report.

Last year, China's GDP expanded 5 percent year on year to CNY134.9 trillion (USD18.5 trillion), meeting the country’s economic growth target for the year, according to data recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics.

China’s economy is expected to grow 4.86 percent this year from the year before, according to the latest Yicai Chief Economist Survey, which polled 14 chief economists.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Kim Taylor