Guangdong's GDP reached 12.4 trillion RMB last year, which is China’s first province to have a GDP exceeding 12 trillion RMB, according to the Guangdong 2022 government work report.
Notably, Dongguan has become the fourth city in the province with an economic aggregate exceeding one trillion RMB. Previously, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Foshan have registered economic aggregates exceeding one trillion RMB in 2010, 2011 and 2020 respectively.
Guangdong's economy performance has shown great resilience, which left Consuls General in Guangzhou with deep impression. “It is indeed a moment of pride that Guangdong province has achieved the main goals and tasks set in the beginning of 2021,” Diyar Khan, Consul General of Pakistan in Guangzhou, told GDToday in a written interview.
Cooperation with Guangdong in trade and investment will be deepened
As China’s largest province in foreign trade, Guangdong's total import and export volume exceeded 8 trillion RMB in 2021, an increase of 16.7% over 2020. According to Guangdong Sub-Administration of GACC, Guangdong’s total import and export volume has increased by 1.18 trillion RMB in a year, taking the lead in China for 36 consecutive years.
Statistics show that in 2021, Guangdong's trade structure was further optimized, with the import and export of general trade up by 19.1%. New forms in foreign trade have developed rapidly, with both the scale of cross-border e-commerce and market procurement surpassing 300 billion RMB.
Diyar Khan introduced that Pakistani exports and imports to Guangdong have increased 35% and 21.72%, which is a remarkable feat. “In 2021, we organized export promotion shows for our agriculture products such as mango and dates in Guangzhou. Our government has also nominated Honorary Trade and Investment Counsellors for Dongguan and Shenzhen cities in 2021.”
In the new year, he is confident that Pakistan and Guangdong will strengthen and deepen cooperation in economic and commercial, foreign direct investment, scientific and technological innovation sectors.
Ahmed Shettima, Consul General of Nigeria in Guangzhou indicated that they wish to sustain cooperation with Guangdong in trade and investment, to attract Guangdong investors to Nigeria and facilitate the inflow of their investment into Nigeria.
The world's biggest trade pact, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) officially entering into force on January 1 in China and nine other countries, will bolster regional integration and aid a bumpy global recovery. In terms of population, economic volume and trade aggregate, 15 RCEP member countries account for about 30% of the global total.
From January 1 to 19, a total of 378 regional RCEP preferential certificates were issued in Guangdong within just half a month. These involve an export FOB amount of 198.681 million USD and help enterprises reduce tariffs for around 1.99 million USD.
Han Jae Heuk, Consul General of the Republic of Korea in Guangzhou, believes that Guangdong has a sound industrial foundation and is geographically adjacent to many RCEP member countries. Companies from the ROK are expected to be more active in exploring bilateral cooperation in the future.
The government work report emphasizes the need to earnestly implement development policies such as further developing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the Shenzhen Demonstration Pilot Area. Han Jae Heuk added: "It is expected that Guangdong will continue to expand its opening to the outside world this year. I look forward to more active economic cooperation between Guangdong and ROK."
More cooperation will be found in advanced technology
Apart from the resilience of Guangdong’s economy amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Ahmed Shettima also focuses on technological breakthroughs and innovations that Guangdong has achieved in the last year.
In 2021, it is predicted that the R&D expenditure of Guangdong will exceed 380 billion RMB, accounting for 3.14% of its GDP. The comprehensive regional innovation ability has ranked first in China for five consecutive years. Guangdong’s effective amount of invention patents and PCT international patent applications rank first in China, and the number of national high-tech enterprises exceeds 60,000.
In 2022, Guangdong will put an effort on developing electronic information, new energy, advanced materials. The province will promote the development of Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain and more.
Guangdong will also formulate more active, open and effective talent policies, cultivate and introduce scientific and technological talents, as well as high-level innovation teams with international standards.
Han Jae Heuk comments, Guangdong is vigorously developing the industries of the future, including AI, autonomous vehicles, digital economy and hydrogen fuel.
In March 2021, the commencement ceremony of Hyundai Automobile Hydrogen Fuel Cell Base was held in Guangzhou. Han Jae Heuk believes that ROK and Guangdong have obvious complementary advantages in related industries and the two sides see abundant cooperation opportunities.
Speaking of the new year, he said: "with the development of the Greater Bay Area, the strategic economic and trade cooperation between ROK and Guangdong is expected to be further upgraded."
Author | Hannah, Jasmine, Lydia
Editor | Wing, Steven, Jerry