From January 15th to 25th, Guangdong held provincial People’s Congress and People's Political Consultative Conference. Huang Huahua delivered his Work Report of Guangdong Government at the sessions. For the first time the news that Guangdong’s GDP, after overtaking those of Singapore and Hong Kong, has surpassed that of Taiwan.

Huang Huahua pointed out in his report that, in the past five years, Guangdong’s economy has developed quickly and healthily to the stage of low consumption, low pollution, high growth rate, and high efficiency. Guangdong not only continued to take the lead in national economy, developing healthily and quickly, but also solved many social problems and contradictions. Guangdong has successfully transformed it economy structure and paved the way for comprehensive scientific development of whole society. Guangdong is now standing at the threshold of a new era.

GDP reaching 3000 billion　　

Overall economic strength is greatly enhanced. The provincial GDP has jumped from 1350.2 billion RMB in 2002, to 3060.6 billion RMB in 2007, with an average annual growth of 14.5%. Its ratio in proportion to the national GDP increased from 1/9 to 1/8. Guangdong’s GDP, after overtaking those of Singapore and Hong Kong, has surpassed that of Taiwan.

Guangdong’s GDP per capita has reached 4000 US dollars. The overall financial revenue from Guangdong rose from 280 billion RMB to 775 billion RMB, while the local budget revenue increased from 120.1 billion RMB to 278.5 billion, with average annual growth of 21.4% and 19.5%, respectively. The overall financial revenue and local budget revenue of 2007 are 34.7% and 28.0% respectively more than those of 2006.

Industrial structure

Great improvement has been made in industrial structure adjustment. Industrial layout and structure is gradually rationalized with obvious increase in high tech industry and appropriate heavy industry. Production value from high tech industry has increased from 470 billion RMB in 2002 to 1870 billion RMB in 2007. Information, electronic and electric industries have been upgraded. The added value ratio between light industry and heavy industry is adjusted to 39/61, with the nine main sectors acting as the leading economy.

Pearl River Delta motor industrial group has been formed, with Guangzhou Honda as the leading enterprise. Construction of petrochemical industry and coastal petrochemical industrial base is steadily advanced. Guangdong’s production capacity of cars, petroleum, and ethylene ranks among the top ones in the whole country. Breakthroughs have been achieved in manufacturing of ships, energy facilities, computerized machines, and other key equipment

Independent innovation

Innovative construction of Guangdong has been going on very well, with its regional independent innovation capacity ranking the third nation wide for years. The portion of economic growth contributed by scientific improvement rose from 45.8% in 2002 to more than 50% in 2007. Guangdong collaborated with Ministry of Education and Ministry of Science and Technology in implementing 4,100 projects. It also cooperated with the National Natural Science Foundation of China in setting up its Guangdong branch, and succeeded in several breakthroughs in high-tech appliances and bio-medical fields.

The numbers of patents applied and granted has always ranked the first place nation wide since 2005. The numbers of products entitled China’s Famous Brand, products exempted from state inspection, and e marks entitled as China’s Resounding trade marks rose from 35, 118, and 27 to 299, 665, and 108 respectively. Four brands even claim the entitle of China’s World-Famous Brand.

Infrastructure construction

In the past five years, 583.5 billion RMB was invested in 292 key projects with 197 of them now put into practice or partially put into practice, which greatly improves the telecommunication, transportation, and power infrastructure. The overall length of expressway nearly doubles that of 2002, connecting all the counties and cities within the province, building up a economic and social network centered on Guangzhou and Shenzhen with a diameter of 4 hours’ drive.

Green Guangdong

Energy consumptions per unit of GDP and industrial value added were 63.9% and 41.1% of the national average in 2006 respectively, with the former figure the lowest and the latter the second lowest nation wide. While both figures continued to drop in 2007, the emission of industrial pollutants such as sulfur dioxide decreased continuously in the two years. Environmental protection projects were launched across Guangdong province, especially in Pearl River delta area, and great achievements have been made in protecting the environment and the Pearl river. Sewage water treatment and garbage treatment rates are expected to reach 50% and 60%. Land consumption also decreased significantly, with the average land consumption per 0.1 billion RMB GDP expected to be only 60% of that of the previous five-year period.

New rural construction

The cooperation between the urban and the rural areas and regional cooperation are strengthened. With agricultural tax and other agricultural revenues cancelled, peasants burden is greatly reduced. Rural development is also revived with investment and consumption volume bigger than those of the urban areas. County suburban economy develops very fast, with faster industrialization and urbanization. In the recent years, in the 67 counties and 5 cities in mountainous areas, the increased volumes of GDP and local budget revenue are above the national average.

Deepening reform

With the deepening of reform and opening up and betterment of socialist market economic system, Guangdong’s import and export oriented economies have developed fast. Administrative management system is further reformed, cancelling more than half of the projects that need administrative approval. The building of e-government has been successfully carried on and completed the first provincial electronic administrative approval monitoring system nation wide. Public financial system, financial revenue increase mechanism, and expenditure management system are improved. Great success is also achieved in local financial reform.

Editor: Yan