China's 'North-South divide' to worsen as COVID hits economy

BEIJING -- The economic divide between China's lagging north and thriving south is widening fast, complicating macroeconomic and monetary policy.

The gross regional product of provinces and municipalities located south of the "Qinling-Huaihe line" was the same compared to the north in 1960, but the south became 57% larger in 2017, and 83% larger in 2019.