# Huaihai economic zone

A City That’s Not Rushing to Celebrate a Trillion: What Xuzhou’s Calm on GDP Says About China’s Urban Policy Shift

Xuzhou has refrained from an emphatic announcement that its GDP surpassed one trillion yuan, publishing only a 5.8% real growth figure and urging officials not to be preoccupied with the milestone. The move reflects a broader policy tilt in China away from headline GDP targets toward higher-quality, more balanced urban development, though political incentives to tout such thresholds remain strong.