File Photo:VCG

 
China’s four biggest cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen all reported positive economic performance in the first quarter of this year, with GDP growth for all four cities exceeding 17 percent year-on-year.
 
According to local statistics bureaus, Beijing’s GDP grew by 17.1 percent year-on-year in the first quarter to 891.59 billion yuan ($137.38 billion), a rise of 9.3 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. The average growth over the past two years was 4.6 percent.
 
In Shanghai, the GDP grew by 17.6 percent from last year, and 9.7 percent from 2019, with average growth at 4.7 percent over the two years. Guangzhou’s growth recorded 19.5 percent to 640.41 billion yuan, up 19.5 percent from last year, averaging at 5.6 percent in the past two years. Shenzhen’s GDP totaled 686.75 billion yuan, up 17.1 percent year-on-year, averaging at 4.6 percent growth in the past two years.
 
All four cities attributed accelerated growth in the first quarter to the low base in the same period in last year under the influence of COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, rising foreign trade, robust retail activity and investment also contributed to robust GDP growth across the cities, local statistics bureau said.