Both Chongqing and Nanjing posted impressive performances in terms of GDP in the first half of this year, according to a Monday report by news outlet Yicai.

Chongqing recorded a 0.8 percent yearly increase in GDP to 1.12 trillion yuan during the period, surpassing Guangzhou, which saw its GDP down 2.7 percent to 1.097 trillion yuan, data from local authorities showed. Compared with last year's GDP rankings, Chongqing replaced Guangzhou and came in fourth place this time, the report said.

When talking about Chongqing's economic recovery, the main driving force can be attributed to the city's work on investment projects, imports and exports, as well as industrial levels and mix. Its high-tech industries, manufacturing, finance and logistics have rebounded significantly. Besides, Chongqing's automobile manufacturing industry has achieved rapid growth, and its mid- to high-end models promoted the recovery of its auto industry, Yi Xiaoguang, dean of the Chongqing Institute of Comprehensive Economic Research, said in the report.

By contrast, Guangzhou, which is more dependent on foreign demand in its economy, has been hit harder by the pandemic, according to Yi.

Nanjing, which took 11th place behind Tianjin in the 2019 GDP list, overtook the latter in the half-year rankings. Nanjing registered 661.24 billion yuan in GDP during the first six months, while the number in Tianjin was 630.93 billion yuan.

The GDP gap between Chengdu and Suzhou is narrowing, the report said. In 2019, Suzhou's GDP was 220 billion yuan higher than Chengdu. In the first half of this year, the difference was reduced to 75.16 billion yuan.

According to data released by local authorities, Shanghai, registering a GDP of 1.74 trillion yuan in the first six months of this year, delivered the strongest economic performance among Chinese cities. Beijing witnessed its GDP reaching 1.62 trillion yuan during the same period, and Shenzhen took the third place with its GDP at 1.26 trillion yuan.