Relevance. In recent years, China’s GDP has continued to grow, however, the regional gap in socio-economic development is still huge. It is, therefore, crucial to investigate the reasons behind regional disparities and the possible solutions to this problem. Research objective. This paper aims to examine the patterns of regional differences in mainland China after the economic reform of the 1970s.Data and methods. The study relies on the methods of comparative analysis and the data from the National Bureau of Statistics of the People’s Republic of China and the Statistical Yearbook Sharing Platform as well as the information from the national media portal - Xinhua News Agency. Results. The Chinese government’s application of differentiated measures, strategies and policies to different regions exacerbated the existing disparities. This paper elaborates on the future regional economic adjustments and plans and thus can be of interest to investors and business activists in China and other countries.