Anhui's First-Half GDP Grows 5.6% to 2.737 Trillion Yuan, Overtakes Hunan by 33.64 Billion Yuan to Enter Top

On the afternoon of July 21, Anhui Governor Wang Qingxian chaired a special meeting to study the planning of emerging pillar industries in the counties (cities, districts) of northern Anhui. Provincial departments reported on the planning progress, and participants discussed the matter. Wang Qingxian set requirements for the next steps, stressing that governments at all levels in northern Anhui must fully recognize the extreme importance of developing emerging pillar industries, and carefully identify the main directions and sub-sectors for industrial development. In the first half of 2026, Anhui achieved a GDP of 2.737 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.6%; Hunan achieved a GDP of 2.70336 trillion yuan, up 2.7%. Anhui, which lagged behind Hunan by 44.35 billion yuan in the first half of last year, now leads by 33.64 billion yuan, entering the top ten provinces by GDP. Northern Anhui includes six cities: Huaibei, Bozhou, Suzhou, Bengbu, Fuyang, and Huainan, as well as Mingguang City, Fengyang County, and Dingyuan County of Chuzhou, and Huoqiu County of Lu'an. The northern Anhui region accounts for nearly 40% of Anhui's land area and carries about half of its population, but its GDP accounts for only 30% of the provincial total, with per capita GDP significantly below the provincial average. In Anhui's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), 'accelerating the comprehensive revitalization of northern Anhui' is a standalone chapter. It proposes to improve the quality and efficiency of the industrial transfer agglomeration area in northern Anhui, concentrate efforts to strengthen key industry clusters such as new energy vehicles and parts, new energy, new materials, and green food, orderly open up new industrial development tracks, and cultivate a number of high-quality enterprises with prominent main businesses, good growth potential, and strong driving effects. Governor Wang Qingxian said at the meeting that taking the 15th Five-Year Plan as a new starting point, every county (city, district) in northern Anhui should focus on the province's '1188' modern industrial system, based on its own conditions and industrial foundation, deeply embed into the provincial industrial layout, find sub-sectors and key positions that can best leverage comparative advantages, persistently pursue them, extend the industrial chain, and form industrial cluster effects.