According to China Central Television, Guangdong Province in China is actively positioning itself as a global centre for industrial and scientific technology innovation, aiming to advance both industry and technology synergistically while fostering the growth of new, high-quality productive forces.
In 2023, Guangdong’s GDP reached 13.57T yuan (approximately $1.88T), maintaining its position as the country’s top-ranked province for the 35th consecutive year. With over 18 million business entities, including 7.8 million enterprises, the province contributes significantly, accounting for one-seventh of the nation’s total.
Governor Wang Weizhong outlined Guangdong’s objectives for 2024, focusing on expanding investment, boosting consumption, and stabilising foreign trade to achieve a targeted 5% economic growth. Notably, industrial investment surged by 22.2% last year, marking 36 consecutive months of double-digit growth, while technology upgrade investments soared by 22.4%, hitting a six-year high, according to WAM.
In the initial two months of 2024, Guangdong’s economy sustained growth across various sectors, with a 10.6% increase in industry, 6.1% growth in consumption, 4.3% rise in investment, and a significant 24.9% surge in imports and exports.
Guangdong boasts 71,000 industrial enterprises generating an annual main business revenue of 20 million yuan or more, alongside 75,000 high-tech firms, leading the nation in both categories. The province has consistently ranked first in China for regional innovative capacity over the past seven years.
Looking ahead, Guangdong aims to cultivate new high-quality productive forces and drive industrial innovation through scientific and technological advancements. Governor Wang expressed plans to expedite the development of integrated circuits, new energy storage, new energy vehicles, low-altitude economy, and artificial intelligence, envisioning them as billion or trillion-level industrial clusters. Additionally, efforts will be intensified to establish a comprehensive innovation ecosystem encompassing basic research, technology upgrading, commercialization of research outcomes, scientific and technological finance, and talent support, with the ultimate goal of establishing a globally influential industrial and scientific technology innovation hub.
