Major cities in the Yangtze River Delta reported slower GDP growth in the first quarter of 2009 as the global downturn intensified, reported the Wuxi statistical bureau. Their aggregate GDP of Rmb1,200bn was up 7.9 per cent from a year earlier but 5.2 percentage points less than the same period in 2008.

Exports fell 22 per cent to US$91.6bn and industrial output of major companies in the cities declined 3.7 per cent. However, these contractions were more than offset by high levels of state spending and robust consumer confidence: fixed-asset investment rose 14.9 per cent to Rmb539.2bn and retail sales increased 14.6 per cent to Rmb491.3bn.

The cities studied in the analysis included Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Nantong, Yangzhou, Taizhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Shaoxing and Zhoushan.