SFC Markets and Finance | How Guangdong surpasses 14000000000000 Yuan？

南方财经全媒体记者 谭海燕 杨雨莱 广州报道

Editor's note:

Guangdong has long been recognized as a key pillar of China’s economy, accounting for about one-tenth of the country's GDP. Meanwhile, Guangdong is ramping up efforts to construct an end-to-end innovation chain, aiming to become a globally influential innovation base. However, Guangdong’s economy is facing some challenges as global economic growth stagnated. Going forward, how can Guangdong remain resilient and sustainable growth? SFC Markets and Finance's special coverage "Navigating Economic Cycle" will try to find answers.

Guangdong will become the first province to surpass 14 trillion yuan. According to the government work report, despite mounting external pressures and internal challenges, Guangdong was estimated to surpass 14 trillion yuan ($1.9 trillion) in 2024, topping the country for 36 consecutive years. How to comment on Guangdong’s performance in 2024? Let’s hear from some consulates’ views.

Andrei Popov, Consul General of the Republic of Belarus in Guangzhou

Andrei Popov: Just take a quick look at the statistics shared by the Guangdong leadership, indicating once again the impressive annual growth of Guangdong province’s GDP, which has remained the top regional economy in China for 36 consecutive years. That’s an outstanding performance deserving congratulations to the Guangdong government and its people.

On the infrastructural breakthroughs, it’s worth mentioning connectivity projects such as the Shenzhen–Zhongshan Link, which is truly exceptional.

The annual growth in Guangdong’s foreign trade is equally remarkable, with outstanding performance figures achieved despite significant global economic stress. Even under these challenging conditions, Guangdong’s economy has performed exceptionally well.

We continue to place high hopes on the exceptional economic and financial performance of Guangdong province. As a representative of the Republic of Belarus, I’d like to highlight Guangdong companies’ active support and participation in the China Flagship Overseas Industrial Park—the Great Stone Industrial Park in Belarus. Against this backdrop, we hope this upward trend will continue both domestically and internationally, as it represents a win-win strategy.

Guangdong’s greatest strength lies in its diversified economy, which encompasses not only manufacturing but also services. From my perspective, this diversification serves as a safety cushion. With a diversified economy, Guangdong has multiple resources to rely on and can compensate for potential setbacks in one sector by leveraging other sectors.

Hossein Darvishi, Consul General of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Guangzhou

Hossein Darvishi: As it is mentioned, the high-quality achievements are very important in Guangdong’s economy. Mastering the newest developments in technology is also crucial for Guangdong’s economic growth.

It is very important for us to share experiences with the Guangdong government and enterprises. At the same time, SMEs in Guangdong share their achievements and technologies with us.

I believe Guangdong’s economy will accelerate further and achieve significant advancements in many critical technologies. This will foster and drive economic growth, particularly in areas such as AI and quantum technology. Additionally, e-commerce represents another key achievement of Guangdong’s economy, which will also contribute to its faster development.

High-Quality Development Powers Guangdong's Trade Success

Why did Guangdong maintain its growth momentum in 2024? One of the answers is foreign trade grew steadily. Guangdong's total import and export value is projected to exceed 9 trillion yuan in 2024, up 9.8 percent year on year, securing its position as the national leader in foreign trade for 39 consecutive years. What’s the key to strong performance on foreign trade? Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of Renmin University Research Fellow Liu Ying shared her insights.

Liu Ying: Guangdong's foreign trade import and export volume exceeded 9 trillion yuan in 2024, marking a 9.8% growth. I am very much looking forward to seeing if it can reach 10 trillion yuan next year.

For 39 consecutive years, Guangdong has ranked first nationwide in total trade volume, contributing nearly 40%, of the nation's total trade, cementing its position as a leader. The reason behind such remarkable achievements lies in Guangdong's commitment to high-quality development. It is a key demonstration of the new quality productive forces. Guangdong is a major hub for new quality productive forces. Advanced manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing are all part of the new quality productive forces.

The province's R&D intensity has reached 3.6%, far exceeding the EU average. With approximately 77,000 high-tech enterprises, Guangdong has ranked first in regional innovation capability for 8 consecutive years. This leadership has driven Guangdong’s tremendous success in foreign trade. It is a testament to innovative, open, and high-quality development. I believe this is a natural outcome.

Take, for example, the production of new energy vehicles and industrial robots, which has grown as high as 31.2%, accounting for 44% of the national total. Smartphone shipments and integrated circuits also reflect high-quality development.

I believe high-level openness has been a critical foundation for these achievements. Foreign trade essentially reflects external demand for our products, with significant growth in exports and imports largely supporting those exports. This highlights our economy's high-quality growth and the development of our industrial clusters, which is one aspect.

On the other hand, it is the strong support from all sectors in Guangdong, especially the government, for these enterprises. This includes financial support, policy assistance, and measures such as the facilitation and liberalization of exports. In particular, the establishment of free trade zones has played a significant role in driving the sharp increase in imports and exports.

Additionally, it is also due to the enterprises' independent innovation and trade initiatives. They have gained core competitiveness in the international market, with their brands being widely recognized globally. The benefits of cost reduction and efficiency improvement have been evident. Through joint efforts on multiple fronts, Guangdong has achieved such an outstanding result.

Greater Bay Area Integration Fuel China’s Growth

2024 marks the fifth anniversary of the release of the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). From the reform and opening up, to new quality productive forces, the GBA is always an important region to drive China’s growth. As the GBA’s integration is deepening, how can it contribute more to China? What role can Guangdong play? Member of the Academic Degree Committee at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation Bai Ming gave his comments.

Bai Ming: Guangdong is at the forefront of China's opening up to the world. It has long held the top position in the country’s foreign trade, accounting for roughly 20% of the nation’s total foreign trade, and at times, even as much as a quarter.

In the process of stabilizing foreign trade, our country places even greater expectations on Guangdong. If Guangdong’s foreign trade remains stable, it provides a solid foundation for stabilizing our overall foreign trade.

Moreover, Guangdong is actively advancing the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This effort has created a synergistic effect within the Greater Bay Area, which is ultimately reflected in the competitiveness of our products, enabling us to better withstand shocks from the international market.

The competitiveness of our products will play a significant role in overcoming changes in the external environment. Compared to other regions in China, building a unified domestic market in the Greater Bay Area has an additional layer: the integration of internal and external circulations. Therefore, in this process, the building of our unified domestic market is more closely integrated with our high-level opening up efforts.

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