The Statistics Bureau of Guangdong Province released the province's economic performance data for the first half of the year on July 23. During this period, the province's Gross Domestic Product reached 7,228,105 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 4.5% in real terms. Guangdong's total economic output accounts for approximately 10.4% of the national figure, maintaining its firm position at the top of all provinces.
More noteworthy than the total volume are the profound structural changes occurring within the growth drivers. In the first half of the year, the three major sectors—industry, finance, and information services—collectively contributed over 70% to economic growth. Among them, the industrial sector alone contributed 44%, establishing itself as the core engine of expansion.
Moving Towards Innovation
New growth drivers are accelerating rapidly. Industry demonstrated strong resilience in the first half of the year, with production significantly picking up pace. The added value of industrial enterprises above a designated size across the province increased by 5.8% year-on-year, which is 0.4 percentage points higher than the national average. By sector, the computer, communication, and other electronic equipment manufacturing industry saw a value-added increase of 11.6%, contributing 56.9% to the growth of the industrial sector as a whole. The automobile manufacturing industry grew by 9.9%, and the special equipment and general equipment manufacturing sectors expanded by 11.2% and 7.6%, respectively.
The growth engine is swiftly shifting towards a dual-drive model led by advanced manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing. In the first half of the year, the added value of advanced manufacturing grew by 6.9%, and high-tech manufacturing increased by 11.1%. These sectors now account for 57.2% and 35.8% of the province's total industrial output, representing increases of 1.8 and 2.8 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Products under the "Guangdong Smart Manufacturing" umbrella, such as industrial robots, 3D printing equipment, and integrated circuits, maintained double-digit production growth rates of 34.2%, 51.8%, and 29.7%, respectively. Green products also showed strong momentum, with new energy vehicle and lithium-ion battery production rising by 48.4% and 32.2%, respectively. This optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure has not only fortified the foundation of Guangdong's economy but also injected innovative vitality into its high-quality development.
The modern services sector also performed robustly. In the first half of the year, the added value of the province's service industry grew by 4.5% year-on-year. Specifically, the financial sector expanded by 8.5%, the information transmission, software, and information technology services sector grew by 8.2%, and the leasing and business services sector increased by 9.3%. The coordinated advancement of advanced manufacturing and modern services is acting as a dual engine driving Guangdong's economy towards innovation.
Investment Directed Towards Innovation
The structure of investment is continuously improving. The effects of the large-scale equipment renewal policy are becoming increasingly apparent, with investment in equipment and tool purchasing surging by 22.4%. Investment in industrial technological transformation now accounts for 39.4% of total industrial investment, an increase of 4.9 percentage points from the same period last year. Investment in high-tech industries grew by 9.8%, including a 67.7% surge in investment for electronic computer and office equipment manufacturing and a 7.8% rise in electronic and communication equipment manufacturing. Investment in the internet and related services skyrocketed by 399.5%, signaling an accelerated layout of digital economy infrastructure.
The "Six Networks"—water networks, new-type power grids, computing power networks, new-generation communication networks, urban underground pipeline networks, and logistics networks—are being comprehensively rolled out. In February this year, four computing power projects broke ground in Guangzhou, which will add over 40,000 P of intelligent computing power upon completion. Guangdong now has 1,134 companies related to computing power, making it the only province in the country with over a thousand such enterprises. The Guangdong 6G Industry Innovation and Development Alliance was inaugurated, with nearly 30 entities positioning themselves in next-generation communication technology. As more of these "Six Networks" projects enter their peak construction period in the second half of the year, the effects of optimizing investment structure are expected to be further realized.
Market Trends Towards Innovation
Positive signals are emerging in consumption. In the first half of the year, the per capita disposable income of residents in the province was 29,667 yuan, a nominal increase of 4.7% year-on-year, and a real increase of 3.9% after accounting for price factors. Income growth for rural residents was faster, with a nominal growth rate of 5.9% and a real growth rate of 5.8%, further narrowing the urban-rural income gap. Total retail sales of consumer goods in the province grew by 1.3% year-on-year. Sales of basic necessities and certain upgraded goods grew rapidly, with communication equipment surging by 33.3% and new energy vehicles by 9.3%. Online retail maintained a relatively fast pace, with retail sales of goods by enterprises above the designated size through public networks increasing by 8.3%, accounting for 48.1% of their total commodity retail sales.
Service consumption was particularly active. In the first half of the year, per capita spending on services grew by 4.4%, outpacing spending on goods by 3.3 percentage points. During the Spring Festival holiday, the province received 86.589 million tourists, generating tourism revenue of 84.89 billion yuan, both setting new historical records. During the "May Day" holiday, the province hosted 19 large-scale concerts with an audience of over 5,000 people each, demonstrating a significant economic boost from the concert economy.
External markets were also robust. In the first half of the year, Guangdong's total foreign trade in goods reached 5.49 trillion yuan, surpassing the 5 trillion yuan mark for the first time in a historical first-half period. This represents a growth of 20.8% and accounts for 21.6% of the national total, contributing 25.6% to the nation's foreign trade growth. Exports of mechanical and electrical products reached 2.27 trillion yuan, a 16% increase, constituting over 70% of the province's total export value. Notably, exports of integrated circuits surged by 61.4% to 266.7 billion yuan, while exports of drones, high-end machine tools, and industrial robots grew by 24.6%, 20.1%, and 16.8%, respectively, establishing high value-added products as the main force of exports.
Onward Towards Innovation
Entering the second half of the year, new developments are already underway. On the industrial front, new-type mechatronics integration has been elevated to a new strategic level. The province held its first special symposium on this topic, pressing the accelerator for Guangdong manufacturing to leap towards "intelligent decision-making." On the consumption front, the "Yue Ye Yue Mei" nighttime cultural tourism consumption promotion campaign has been launched. Summer cultural tourism vouchers are being distributed daily, and a consumer benefits campaign using social security cards will run until the end of September. On the investment front, the Baixin Guangzhou High-Performance Server Intelligent Manufacturing Base has been established in Nansha, with a projected total investment of over 4 billion yuan. JD.com's first RoboBase project has commenced construction in Guangzhou's Huangpu district. On the external opening front, preparations for the 140th Canton Fair are in full swing.
In the first half of the year, the number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises increased by 8.4%, and the actual utilization of foreign capital grew by 6.8%, indicating that more foreign capital continues to bet on Guangdong. The province's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 0.8% year-on-year in the first half, while the Producer Price Index (PPI) for industrial products increased by 0.4%. Overall, prices have risen moderately, providing room for macroeconomic policy adjustments. Concurrently, expenditure on people's livelihoods accounted for 74.0% of general public budget spending. Expenditure on health, social security and employment, and housing security increased by 6.5%, 5.3%, and 4.7%, respectively, demonstrating that the dividends of high-quality development are increasingly benefiting the population.
Industrial innovation, investment innovation, and market innovation—these three "New" elements outline a clear blueprint for Guangdong's economy moving towards innovation and quality. In the first half of the year, Guangdong has posted its best "mid-term report card" in nearly three years. Looking ahead to the second half, how the province can achieve breakthroughs by tapping into domestic demand and optimizing its economic structure is the key story that remains to be written.
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