13 cities in China join the 1 trillion yuan GDP club

The GDP of Changsha, capital city of Hunan province, is estimated to have increased 9.0 percent in 2017 to reach 1.02 trillion yuan ($157.1 billion), becoming the 13th city in China with a GDP of one trillion yuan. 

Chen Wenhao, mayor of Changsha, made the announcement of the GDP milestone during the second meeting of the fifteenth People's Congress of Changsha on Jan 2, reports National Business Daily. 

Changsha accelerated its efforts in 2017 to become a national intelligent manufacturing center, a national innovation and creative center, and a national transportation and logistics center. 

Shanghai took the lead and became China's first city with a total output exceeding one trillion yuan in 2006, according to data compiled by Economic View, a financial news app by chinanews.com.

Beijing passed the one trillion yuan GDP milestone in 2008, followed by Guangzhou in 2010. Shenzhen, Tianjin, Suzhou, and Chongqing joined the club together with Wuhan in 2011, and Chengdu in 2014. In 2015, the GDP of Hangzhou exceeded one trillion yuan, while Nanjing and Qingdao joined the list in 2016. 

Chongqing, Chengdu, Wuhan, and Changsha are located in China's central and western regions. According to the deputy general economist of the China Center for International Economics, Xu Hongcai, the Belt and Road Initiative will likely usher in new development opportunities for China's central and western provinces. 

The remaining nine cities are on the eastern coast in the three major urban agglomerations of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta. These three major urban agglomerations are at the core of China's economy. 

Other cities might not be far behind in joining the one trillion yuan club. Wuxi's total economy is likely to reach the one trillion milestone in the near future. And Ningbo, Foshan, and Zhengzhou in the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta are also showing strong signs of continued economic growth.