Central Three Provinces' Q3 GDP Tops 10.3 Trillion Yuan, New Products and Consumption Potential Emerge

Central China has gradually released its economic performance report for the first three quarters of this year. The "Central Triangle" region, consisting of Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi provinces, has achieved a total GDP of 10.3 trillion yuan, an increase of 285.901 billion yuan compared to the same period last year.

Among them, Hubei's GDP growth rate (5.7%) is 0.9 percentage points higher than the national level; Hunan and Jiangxi's year-on-year growth rates are 4.5% and 4.7%, respectively, slightly lower than the national average.

Reporters combed through the economic operation data of the three provinces of Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi for the third quarter and found that this year, the high-tech manufacturing industry has grown rapidly. For example, Hubei's lithium-ion battery production increased by 70.9%, Jiangxi's new energy vehicle production increased by 124.0%, and Hunan's 3D printing equipment production increased by 92.7%.

With the implementation of a series of policies to expand domestic demand and promote consumption, the total retail sales of consumer goods in the three provinces and the growth rate have performed well, with consumption showing characteristics of upgrading and greening, and catering and cultural tourism consumption remaining active; equipment renewal has significantly driven investment.

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New high-tech manufacturing products have emerged.

In the first three quarters, Hubei achieved a regional gross product of 4,165.501 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 5.7% at constant prices; Hunan achieved 3,789.874 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 4.5%; Jiangxi achieved 2,414.98 billion yuan, with a year-on-year increase of 4.7%.

The gap between Hubei's GDP growth rate and the national level has further expanded, from 0.8 percentage points in the first half of the year to 0.9 percentage points in the first three quarters, ranking among the top in the economic powerhouses.

In the first three quarters, the added value of Hubei's large-scale industrial enterprises increased by 8.1% year-on-year, accelerating by 0.2 percentage points compared to the first half of the year. High-tech manufacturing led the growth, with an increase in added value of 25.1%, 16.0 percentage points higher than the national level, contributing 35.8% to the growth of large-scale industrial enterprises, an increase of 25.6 percentage points compared to the same period last year. In terms of products, the production of lithium-ion batteries, smartphones, new energy vehicles, and electronic components increased by 70.9%, 53.8%, 39.8%, and 24.4%, respectively.

Hunan focuses on advanced manufacturing as the main direction, explores new growth points in the industry, promotes the continuous improvement of industrial economic operations, and the development trend of industrial high-end, intelligent, and green development is obvious. In the first three quarters of this year, the added value of high-tech manufacturing enterprises above designated size in the province increased by 15.1% year-on-year, and the output of 3D printing equipment, service robots, smartphones, and solar industrial ultra-white glass of large-scale industrial enterprises increased by 92.7%, 59.7%, 50.2%, and 13.1%, respectively.

Jiangxi's new quality productive forces are accelerating development. In the first three quarters, the high-tech manufacturing industry in the province increased by 16.7% year-on-year, 8.2 percentage points higher than the large-scale industrial enterprises in the province, accounting for 21.4% of the large-scale industrial enterprises, an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to the first half of the year, and the scale of innovative industries continues to grow.Journalists have observed that, with its abundant lithium resources and continuously improving industrial chains, Jiangxi is emerging as a "dark horse" in the new energy vehicle (NEV) race, with the province's NEV production increasing by 124.0% in the first three quarters of this year. Jiangxi has set a goal to achieve a revenue of over 250 billion yuan in the automotive and NEV industries by 2025, with a total vehicle production of 800,000 units, including 250,000 NEVs. The province aims to lead the domestic market share in light commercial vehicles, rank second in pickup trucks, and third in light trucks.

New consumer demand potential is being unleashed

Since the beginning of this year, various regions have innovated and expanded consumer scenarios, launched dense promotional activities, and continuously optimized the supply of new technologies, products, and services, effectively driving improvements in consumer demand.

In the first three quarters, Hubei Province's total retail sales of consumer goods reached 1,721.278 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%, 1.8 percentage points higher than the national average. The holiday economy, performing arts market, sports events, and themed activities have driven a continuous increase in service consumption expenditure. The per capita service consumption expenditure of all residents was 9,853 yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.0%, with significant contributions from expenditures on education, culture, entertainment, and dining out.

In Hunan, the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 5.5% in the first three quarters. The retail sales of upgraded products such as gold and silver jewelry, sports and entertainment goods, and communication equipment all achieved double-digit growth. Food season activities like "Taste of Hunan" have stimulated catering consumption, with a 13.7% increase in meal revenue for limited liability units in the province. Under the guidance of favorable policies such as "trade-in for new consumer goods," environmentally friendly products like energy-efficient home appliances and NEVs have become new growth points in consumption. Among them, NEV retail sales grew by 61%, 54.6 percentage points faster than all types of vehicles.

Rural consumption has become a highlight in Jiangxi's consumption landscape. In the first three quarters, the total retail sales of consumer goods in Jiangxi Province reached 985.13 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%. With the acceleration of rural e-commerce, the continuous improvement of rural logistics, and the sustained release of policy dividends from multiple rural revitalization policies such as rural tourism and consumer poverty alleviation, the retail sales of consumer goods in the rural market of the province increased by 7.1% year-on-year, 2.4 percentage points faster than the urban market, with the rural market share reaching 15.2%.

In addition, from January to September this year, Jiangxi's catering consumption above the designated amount increased by 11.3% year-on-year, 5.9 percentage points faster than commodity retail. Among them, snack services and takeout meal delivery services increased by 53.7% and 18.8%, respectively, indicating that current consumers place greater emphasis on portable, diverse, and cost-effective catering consumption experiences.

Enterprise development expectations and confidence are rising

With the acceleration of the national policy on large-scale equipment updates, investments in industrial technology transformation and equipment updates in the central three provinces have significantly accelerated.

In the first three quarters, the construction of "two heavy" projects drove Hubei's infrastructure investment to grow by 8.4%, 4.3 percentage points faster than the national average. The "two new" policy drove investment in the purchase of equipment, tools, and instruments to grow by 22.3%, with Hubei's industrial technology transformation investment growing by 11.4%, and high-tech manufacturing and high-tech service industry investments growing by 9.0% and 23.8%, respectively. In Hunan, industrial investment grew by 10.6%, and investment in the purchase of equipment, tools, and instruments grew by 6.9%. In Jiangxi, high-tech industry investment grew by 3.7%, with high-tech manufacturing and high-tech service industry investments growing by 2.5% and 10.6%, respectively.In the first three quarters, Hubei province newly registered 1.4096 million market entities, among which 467,400 new enterprises were registered, a growth of 24.3%, with the growth rate ranking first in the country. A survey of the economic climate among large-scale industrial enterprises in the province showed that 93.0% of enterprises held a neutral or optimistic attitude towards the economic situation in the next quarter, an increase of 1.3 percentage points compared to the previous quarter.

By the end of September, Hunan had 59,600 "four above" enterprises in its inventory, a 13% increase; in the first three quarters, 2,419 new "four above" enterprises were added to the inventory, with a net increase of 795. From January to August, the total profit of the province's large-scale industrial enterprises grew by 6.9%, and the profit margin of business revenue was 5.1%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points year-on-year. "Four above" enterprises include large-scale industry, qualified construction industry, wholesale and retail trade above a certain limit, accommodation and catering industry above a certain limit, all real estate development and management businesses with development and management activities, and large-scale service industry legal entities.

In the first three quarters, the added value of small and medium-sized enterprises in Jiangxi province grew by 11.5% year-on-year, 9.0 percentage points higher than that of large enterprises. Large-scale industrial enterprises achieved a business revenue of 2,644.08 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%, 3.0 percentage points higher than the national average.