Guangzhou’s first quarter GDP growth slowed considerably from last year, providing a setback in the city’s regional tussle with other economic powerhouses in the Pearl River Delta.
Official figures showed that economic growth was 4.3% for the quarter, almost halving from the same period last year. Guangzhou’s mayor has hoped for 7.5% growth in 2018, which would likely carry the city’s economy ahead of neighbouring Hong Kong’s for the first time.
A source told the South China Morning Post that yesterday’s figures will be a “surprise to the municipal government. We need to wait and see if there can be an efficient and quick economic recovery later this year.”