On July 23rd, the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Statistics released the province's economic performance data for the first half of 2024. According to the unified accounting results of regional GDP, Guangdong achieved a GDP of 65,242.50 billion yuan, representing a 3.9% year-on-year growth at constant prices.
How should we interpret this mid-year economic report for Guangdong? There should be a consensus: when fully observing Guangdong's economic situation, we must see both the short-term fluctuations and the long-term development trends.
First, let's talk about the "fluctuations." In the first half of 2024, Guangdong experienced frequent extreme weather and flood disasters, which disrupted both resident travel and enterprise production. Given the high level of external orientation of Guangdong's enterprises, the impact of external environmental shocks can be more direct. For such a large economy as Guangdong, achieving a 3.9% growth rate amidst a significantly more complex, severe, and uncertain external environment is quite remarkable.
A closer look at the 3.9% growth rate reveals some positive signals. For instance, Guangdong's foreign trade import and export scale hit a new historical high for the same period, increasing by 13.8% compared to 2023, providing a stronger boost to the economy than last year. In terms of efficiency, the scale and efficiency of large-scale and state-owned industrial enterprises in Guangdong remained relatively stable, supporting the robust performance of the industrial sector. However, it is also important to note the growing challenges in the current economic operation, particularly the prominent issue of insufficient effective demand, which indicates that the foundation for economic recovery and improvement still needs to be solidified.
Next, let's discuss the "trend." In terms of total volume, Guangdong's economy reached 6.52 trillion yuan in the first half of 2024, accounting for 10.6% of the national total, maintaining its leading position as a major economic province. Specifically, Guangdong's primary, secondary, and tertiary industries all maintained overall stable growth, with the secondary industry accounting for 56% of the GDP, and playing a supporting role in the provincial economy.
Currently, Guangdong is accelerating the formation of new quality productive force s and enhancing new development momentum. From a more concrete perspective, the effects of economic transformation and the quality of development are also reflected in the mid-year economic data: the added value of advanced manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing, representing new productivity, increased by 8.1% and 13.0% respectively. The output of strategic emerging industries such as new energy vehicles, smartphones, integrated circuits, and industrial robots increased by 25.7%, 23.4%, 31.1%, and 37.6% respectively, continuously increasing their presence and contribution rates, enhancing the momentum of Guangdong's industrial transformation and optimization. Additionally, Guangdong's industrial investment has maintained double-digit growth for 42 consecutive months, with high-tech industry investment growing by 19.6%, and investment in advanced manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing increasing by 18.6% and 23.9% respectively, fully demonstrating the "new" forces of Guangdong's manufacturing industry, effectively stabilizing business confidence.
Advancing towards "new" forces and improving quality through "new" forces. Economic changes occur in stages, with different manifestations at each stage. As long as we maintain strategic focus and work together to address the obstacles hindering the development of new quality productive forces, the major economic province will be better positioned to take on greater responsibilities and make more significant contributions to the national economic landscape.
Source | Yangcheng Evening News
