China’s High-Tech Push Deepens Inequality as Tianshui’s Population Falls by Nearly 500,000
Updated
Updated · Hindustan Times · Jun 3
China’s High-Tech Push Deepens Inequality as Tianshui’s Population Falls by Nearly 500,000
1 articles · Updated · Hindustan Times · Jun 3
Summary
Tianshui’s high-tech buildout has not lifted local living standards: its GDP per person fell from 16% of Beijing’s level a decade ago to 14%, and its 2025 growth lagged the national rate by 2 percentage points.
Nearly 500,000 people have left the inland city over the past decade, shrinking its population to 2.9 million, as automated factories create few jobs and many available positions pay about 3,000 yuan ($440) a month.
That pattern reflects a broader divide in China’s tech-led model: wealthy coastal hubs such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen capture the best talent, supply chains and salaries, while many inland cities lack workers with even a high-school education.
Tianshui is also being hit by the old economy’s slump, with property investment down more than 40% last year, retail sales slipping just over 5% in 2025 and fiscal revenue falling by nearly a tenth.
Beijing’s latest five-year plan calls for more investment in people as well as factories, but poorer cities still spend far less on education—Tianshui’s per-pupil outlays are under one-third of Beijing’s—raising the risk of a deeper regional trap.