Hong Kong: Shanghai's economy exceeded the size of Hong Kong's for the first time in at least three decades after stimulus spending helped China skirt the global crisis and lead the world out of recession.
Shanghai's gross domestic product grew 8.2 per cent to the equivalent of $218.3 billion (Dh801.60 billion) in 2009 compared with a 2.7 per cent contraction to $210.7 billion for Hong Kong. The preliminary reading on Shanghai was published in January and Hong Kong's release came last week.
The figures highlight 30 years of free-market policies that have spurred China to become the world's third-largest economy and its No 1 exporter. Shanghai's rise may fan concern in Hong Kong that the mainland city will regain its position as China's dominant financial centre, after surpassing the former British colony as the nation's biggest port and stock-market operator.
"Hong Kong's role as the bridge linking China and the West is diminishing due to the further opening up of China," said Hubert Tse, 36, a partner at law firm Boss & Young in Shanghai, who moved to the city from Hong Kong in 2003.
"I'm witnessing history as China continues to power ahead."
Data giving US dollar comparisons for the cities' economies back to 1981 showed Hong Kong previously leading Shanghai. David Cohen, an economist at Action Economics in Singapore, said "based on those nominal figures, converted at the prevailing rates, it would appear that the Shanghai economy is slightly larger".
At the same time, China's data may have less credibility. Jian Chang, a Hong Kong-based economist at Barclays Capital Asia Limited, said there are "always doubts and questions", because provincial numbers fail to tally with national figures.
