An aerial view of the Phoenix Island in Hainan's Sanya city. [Photo/VCG]

China's provincial-level governments have unveiled their GDP growth targets for this year and beyond during their annual "two sessions" while pledging to drive up the economy by boosting consumption and supporting key industries.

Setting economic growth targets is a key focus in the annual meetings of provincial legislatures, which generally take place before the national session. Various regions have announced their 2026 GDP goals, mostly varying from 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent and some others setting even stronger targets.

China's southernmost island province of Hainan, with island-wide special customs operations launched in the Hainan Free Trade Port on Dec 18, 2025, has set a relatively higher GDP growth target for 2026 at around 6 percent.

China's 2026 economic agenda, as outlined in the Central Economic Work Conference held in December 2025, prioritizes boosting domestic demand and building a robust domestic market. Local governments have responded with concrete policy measures in their latest work reports.

Upgrading consumption, unlocking the potential of service consumption, and cultivating new growth areas are among the key focuses.

Hainan announced plans for a 2026 "Marine Tourism Year" to boost tourism consumption related to the ocean, aerospace and tropical rainforests, aiming for an 8 percent increase in total tourist visits and a substantial rise in inbound travelers.

"The rising proportion of service consumption is a distinctive highlight of China's consumption story in 2025," said Zhang Ying, vice dean of the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University." It signals a maturation of the consumer market, where spending on intangible experiences complements the demand for tangible goods."

China released a work plan recently to accelerate the cultivation of new growth drivers in service consumption, targeting a range of sectors from cruise and yacht consumption, domestic services, online audiovisual services such as miniseries, to inbound tourism.