SFC Market Talk｜What's behind Guangdong's record-breaking GDP numbers in 2023?

南方财经全媒体记者谢鸿州 广州报道

GDP of China's Guangdong surpasses 13 trillion yuan in 2023

Quick question. Which province in China has the highest GDP for 35 consecutive years? And what’s the first province in the country to cross the 13-trillion yuan GDP threshold? 

It’s the same answer - South China's Guangdong province.

All the figures above are released in Guangdong’s provincial "Two Sessions". It’s the largest political gathering of the year, where the Report on the Work of the Guangdong Government of each year is released.

The biggest highlight of the report - Guangdong's economic performance in 2023 and plans for 2024. Last year, Guangdong’s GDP hit 13.57 trillion yuan, with an annual growth rate of 4.8%.

The growth rate might seem a bit mild for the economic powerhouse, but it’s the first province to have crossed the 13-trillion yuan threshold, which is about 2 trillion U.S. dollars. It is a remarkable achievement if you consider the fact that only about 10 countries in the world have an GDP higher than that.

Specifically, Guangdong comes first in many areas too, such as foreign trade, industrial revenue and innovation.

Especially under weakened global demand, Guangdong has managed to secure a positive growth in imports and exports, ranking first in the country for 38 consecutive years, which is no easy task. And in terms of innovation, Guangdong has the most R&D personnel, effective invention patents and the most high-tech enterprises.

These are clear evidence that Guangdong is not only strong by quantity, but also by quality.

With great power comes great responsibility. Guangdong province has also been the biggest contributor of national fiscal transfers, effectively supporting the underdeveloped regions in the country.

Guangdong sets big plans for 2024

Looking ahead, Guangdong announced bigger plans for its economy. For 2024, it set a goal of 5% GDP growth, signaling its ambition to boost economy against headwinds. As the biggest economic powerhouse in the country, every bit of growth has a decisive role in the national market.

Among its priorities this year, I’d like to highlight two of them. One is the enhanced development of the Greater Bay Area. This year marks the 5th anniversary of China announcing the master plan for the region. It’s of national importance to build it into a world-class bay area in terms of trade, technology, manufacturing and infrastructure.

Second is balancing regional developments. Despite being the richest province, the economic development is highly unbalanced between urban and rural areas. A lot more efforts are guaranteed to be in place to support industries in less developed parts of the province, which in return will also boost Guangdong’s economy as a whole.

During Guangdong’s "Two Sessions", confidence is one popular word among members of different sectors. Now challenges remain high both domestically and globally, but people have high hopes that Guangdong will continue to amaze the country and the world with its economic miracles.

策划：于晓娜    

监制：施诗

责任编辑：李依农

记者：谢鸿州 

制作：谢鸿州 蔡于恬

拍摄：谢鸿州 王沛然

新媒体统筹：丁青云 曾婷芳 赖禧 黄达迅

海外运营监制: 黄燕淑

海外运营内容统筹: 黄子豪 

海外运营编辑：庄欢 吴婉婕 龙李华 张伟韬

出品：南方财经全媒体集团