Guangzhou is set to become the first city on the mainland to be classified as "developed" by the World Bank following the growth in its annual wealth generation per person.

The city's per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to exceed US$10,000 to reach US$11,000 in 2006, Xinhua reported Thursday.

With 7 million registered residents, Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, will see GDP reach 623.6 billion yuan (US$80 billion) in 2006, 14.4 percent higher than 2005, said Mayor Zhang Guangning in a draft report on the work of the city government.

"The breakthrough in per capita GDP indicates that Guangzhou has become China's first developed city by World Bank standards," said Peng Peng, a researcher with the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences.

Peng said per capita GDP is generally considered a more reliable measure of economic development than GDP alone. The World Bank considers regions with a per capita GDP greater than US$10,000 to be developed.

Guangzhou's per capita GDP exceeded US$8,500 in 2005, with the Engel coefficient - which measures the proportion of income that is spent on food - down to 38 percent.

Statistics show that the economic growth is mainly driven by automobile, petrochemical, electronics and communications equipment industries.

But the city has decided to hold growth to 12 percent as the national focus shifts from chasing GDP expansion at all costs to achieving balanced, sustainable development, Zhang said. "The move matches the provincial target to lower the GDP growth rate to 9 percent amid efforts to optimize economic structures and deepen reforms."

"By slowing growth, we aim to achieve a balance between economic development, environmental protection and the use of resources," said Huang Huahua, governor of Guangdong.

Per capita GDP in Hong Kong and Taiwan surpassed US$10,000 in 1987 and 1992. The International Monetary Fund's GDP rankings for 2005 showed 45 countries and regions had a per capita GDP greater than US$10,000.

Hong Kong and Taiwan ranked 23rd and 37th at US$24,581 and US$13,926. The mainland ranked 106th with US$1,703.

Editor: Yan