Meizhou's regional GDP has made a significant leap from quantitative accumulation to qualitative improvement during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period (2021-2025), successively surpassing the 140-billion-yuan and 150-billion-yuan marks. It is expected to reach approximately 160 billion yuan in 2025, according to data released at a press conference on Meizhou's achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period held in Guangzhou on December 24.
Meizhou has not only achieved breakthroughs in economic scale but also accelerated its growth rate. The average economic growth rate of Meizhou over the past three years has risen to among the highest in Guangdong province, with its growth rate ranking first in the province for the first three quarters of this year.
Over the five years, Meizhou has advanced the High-Quality Development Project for Guangdong's Counties, Towns, and Villages, achieving new results in coordinated urban-rural and regional development.
Strengthening the county-level economy, the city has seen an increase of 82,000 market entities in the past five years. In 2024, counties with GDP below 10 billion yuan were eliminated, and four counties (county-level cities and districts) each achieved a GDP exceeding 20 billion yuan.
Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, leveraging its distinctive resource endowment, Meizhou has focused on strengthening its advantageous pillar industries such as golden pomelos, tea, and rice.
Meizhou has also actively cultivated and expanded characteristic industries, including squab, navel oranges, livestock, poultry, and aquatic products. These efforts have driven comprehensive rural revitalization and increased income for farmers.
In 2024, Meizhou's total output value for agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery reached 44.655 billion yuan, an increase of 14.72% compared to the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020). The per capita disposable income of rural residents reached 23,127 yuan, a growth of 32.69% compared to the previous five-year plan period.
Regarding transportation, the Meizhou-Longchuan high-speed railway has been completed and is operational, helping Meizhou integrate into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's 1.5-hour transportation circle. Construction has begun on three railway lines in Meizhou, aiming for all counties to have railway access by 2028.
Next, Meizhou is striving to build an advanced materials industry cluster with a target scale of one trillion yuan, solidifying the foundation of its real economy. Since the beginning of 2025, the growth rate of the city's value-added industries above a designated size has ranked among the top three in Guangdong province for 11 consecutive months, and the annual total output value of these industries is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan for the first time.
Reporter | Guo Chuhua
Photo | Guo Chuhua
Editor | Hu Nan, James Campion, Shen He
