China's GDP in 2021 reached RMB 114.4 trillion (US$17.7 trillion), showing an increase of about RMB 13 trillion (US$3 trillion) compared to 2020, or 8.1 percent growth year-on-year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS ).
Authorities have also unveiled data tracking the economic performance of 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government for 2021.
In 2021, China's city GDP "trillion clubs" expanded again as 24 cities ended up with a GDP over RMB 1 trillion (approx. US$0.16 trillion).
Shanghai and Beijing's GDP exceeded RMB 4 trillion (approx. US$0.62 trillion). The rapid recovery of Shanghai's economic growth owes much to strategic emerging industries, especially new energy vehicles. Beijing's rapid growth is partly due to the fast growth of its industries above the designated size. On the other hand, Beijing has begun to deploy advantageous production capacity after relocating the non-capital functions to neighboring provinces.
Dongguan's GDP reached RMB 1.09 trillion (approx. US$0.17 trillion) in 2021, becoming the 24th member of the trillion-club cities. According to analysts, this is mostly due to the rapid growth of China's foreign trade in 2021.
Regarding the geographic area of the 24 trillion club cities, 18 were located in South China, while six belonged to North China. In terms of their constituent provinces, the number of trillion-club cities in Guangdong reached four, including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Foshan, and Dongguan. Thus, Guangdong has caught up with Jiangsu in the number of trillion-club cities. Jiangsu has the following four trillion-club cities: Suzhou, Nanjing, Wuxi, and Nantong.
This video above will show the unique view of China's top ten cities by GDP. The rankings are Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Suzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Wuhan, and Nanjing.