Guangdong’s rule as China’s GDP king faces an unprecedented threat to the crown

The long-standing rivalry between China’s two largest economic heavyweights – with each boasting a gross domestic product comparable to Group of Seven members Italy and Canada – reflects the regional dynamism and shifting economic gravity within the world’s second-biggest economy.Jiangsu has been threatening to end Guangdong’s uninterrupted reign as China’s largest provincial economy since the late 1980s, and the latest economic data reveals the gap between the two narrowed further in the first quarter of this year.Jiangsu, bordering Shanghai in eastern China, saw its GDP grow by 5.4 per cent from January to March, year on year, to 3.45 trillion yuan, outpacing the national rate of 5 per cent. Guangdong, bordering Hong Kong in southern China, witnessed a 4.6 per cent GDP rise to 3.49 trillion yuan.