Economic Watch: Chinese provinces unveil 2026 growth targets and outline plans to achieve them

BEIJING, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- China's provincial-level governments have unveiled their GDP growth targets for this year and beyond during their annual "two sessions" while pledging to drive up the economy by boosting consumption and supporting key industries.

Setting economic growth targets is a key focus in the annual meetings of provincial legislatures, which generally take place before the national session. Various regions have announced their 2026 GDP goals, mostly varying from 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent and some others setting even stronger targets.

The Chinese capital Beijing has set a 5-percent GDP growth target for 2026, while aiming for an average annual growth of 4.5 to 5 percent for the 2026-2030 period.

Guangdong, China's largest provincial economy and a manufacturing and foreign trade hub, expects a growth of between 4.5 percent and 5 percent in 2026 and an average annual growth of around 5 percent in the coming five years.

Zhejiang, another manufacturing heartland in east China, aims for 5 to 5.5 percent GDP growth in 2026.

China's southernmost island province of Hainan, which launched island-wide special customs operations in the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) on Dec. 18, 2025, has set a relatively higher GDP growth target for 2026 at around 6 percent.

Southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region is aiming for a GDP growth of more than 7 percent in 2026.

Beyond these headline figures, local government work reports feature buzzwords such as strengthening scientific and technological innovation, building a modern industrial system, and boosting service industries and consumption, reflecting key policy priorities for cultivating new drivers of economic growth.

BOOSTING DOMESTIC DEMAND

China's 2026 economic agenda, as outlined in the Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2025, prioritizes boosting domestic demand and building a robust domestic market. Local governments have responded with concrete policy measures in their latest work reports.

Upgrading consumption, unlocking the potential of service consumption, and cultivating new growth areas are among the key focuses.

Beijing's 2026 blueprint commits to boosting policy support for education, healthcare, elderly care and childcare services, while encouraging digital platforms to innovate in home service offerings.

Other regions have emphasized the potential of their signature industries, such as marine tourism and the ice-and-snow economy, to stimulate consumption and drive new demand.

Hainan announced plans for a 2026 "Marine Tourism Year" to boost tourism consumption related to the ocean, aerospace and tropical rainforests, aiming for an 8 percent increase in total tourist visits and a substantial rise in inbound travelers.

Northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning plan to boost their ice-and-snow industries and develop related sports and tourism to drive regional economic growth.

"The rising proportion of service consumption is a distinctive highlight of China's consumption story in 2025," said Zhang Ying, vice dean of the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University. "It signals a maturation of the consumer market, where spending on intangible experiences complements the demand for tangible goods."

China released a work plan recently to accelerate the cultivation of new growth drivers in service consumption, targeting a range of sectors from cruise and yacht consumption, domestic services, online audiovisual services such as miniseries, to inbound tourism.

SCI-TECH INNOVATION

Beijing, in its latest government work report, has pledged to fully implement the "AI Plus" initiative and establish a national AI application pilot base in 2026.

Its AI ambition is more clearly stated in its five-year plan, recently submitted to the municipal people's congress meeting. According to the plan, the city will nurture a "world-leading artificial intelligence industrial ecosystem," develop a set of industry-leading large models, and improve the AI standards system and application guidelines.

The plan also sets the city's R&D spending at over 6 percent of GDP between 2026 and 2030.

Beijing leads Chinese cities in the number of registered AI models, and also boasts fast-growing industries in new energy vehicles, integrated circuits and biomedicine.

As in Beijing, AI and other high-tech industries feature prominently in local government work reports, highlighting the role of innovation in China's economic development plans.

Zhejiang, home to leading AI companies such as DeepSeek and Alibaba's Qwen, has pledged to expand AI application scenarios. The province aims for more than 20 percent revenue growth in its core AI industry, projecting over 800 billion yuan (about 115 billion U.S. dollars) in 2026.

"Core technologies, including chips, operating systems, databases and base models, are now decisive for future competition," said Fang Xingdong, a member of the Zhejiang provincial committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

"Local governments need exceptional strategies in R&D investment. This is vital for current growth and long-term competitiveness in global sci-tech," Fang added.

MODERN INDUSTRIAL SYSTEM

Building a modern industrial system is another recurring theme in local government work reports, reflecting a continuous emphasis on the real economy and advanced manufacturing.

Guangdong plans to accelerate the upgrading of traditional sectors like electronics and machinery, aiming to build resilient industrial clusters with strong consumer brands in fields like home appliances and furniture.

Over the past five years, Guangdong has pioneered a holistic "chain-wide transformation" model for upgrading entire industrial and supply chains. It now hosts over 30 percent of China's companies in the low-altitude industry chain.

Simultaneously, the province plans to scale up emerging industries such as new energy, smart vehicles and integrated circuits, while fostering future sectors including 6G, brain-computer interfaces, and quantum technology.

Zhejiang aims to develop clusters in areas like new materials, new energy, aerospace, low-altitude economy and biomedicine. The province will also promote future industries like humanoid robots, brain-computer interfaces, brain-like intelligence, quantum information, and biomanufacturing with tailored "one-chain-one-policy" measures.

Central China's Henan Province, targeting around 5 percent GDP growth in 2026, plans to nurture national advanced manufacturing clusters in areas like new power equipment and modern food, and accelerate emerging industrial clusters.

"The industrial sector is the foundation of economic development," said Han Wei, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission. Beijing will advance the ecosystem for industries including clean energy technology, new energy vehicles, robotics and commercial aerospace, Han added. ■