(Yicai) March 5 -- The gross domestic product of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle in western China reached CNY8.2 trillion (USD1.14 trillion) last year, according to the latest data.

The Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle is another important regional development strategy, following the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Its two core cities are Chengdu, the capital of southwestern Sichuan province, and Chongqing, the provincial-level southwestern metropolis.

The economic circle’s GDP expanded 6.1 percent in 2023 from the year before, which is 0.9 percentage point faster than the national average of 5.2 percent and 0.5 percentage point more than that of the western regions, according to an economic data report released today.

It took the area two years to add another CNY1 trillion in GDP after the figure topped CNY7 trillion in 2021, the report said. Its 2023 GDP accounted for 6.5 percent of the whole nation’s and 30.4 percent of the western region. This was a gain of 0.1 percentage point and 0.3 percentage point respectively from the previous year.

The economic circle took a knock during the Covid-19 pandemic, with its contribution to the national GDP in 2022 being less than that in 2021, Yicai learned. However, it bounced back once Covid-19 control and prevention curbs were relaxed. Chengdu’s economic aggregate reached CNY2.2 trillion (USD306 billion) last year and that of Chongqing exceeded CNY3 trillion.

But there are areas that need attention, as the housing market and consumption remain sluggish, the report said.

The growth of the economic circle’s value-added industrial output was slower last year than its economic growth. The value-added output of the manufacturing sector contributed 23.9 percent to GDP, a drop of 0.8 percentage point from the previous year and 2.3 percentage points below the national average.

Investment in real estate in the circle plunged 19.7 percent from 2022. This was 10.1 percentage points more than the national average. Private investment tumbled 8.5 percent, 8.1 percentage points above the national average. While the floor area sold slumped 7.6 percent.

The per capita disposable income of residents in Chongqing was CNY37,595 (USD5,222) last year and that of residents in Sichuan province was CNY32,514. This was less than the national average of CNY39,218. Per-capita expenditure reached CNY23,550 (USD3,271) and CNY26,515 in Chongqing and Sichuan province respectively, which was also below the country’s average of CNY26,796.

Editor: Kim Taylor