Guangdong GDP to pass 10 trillion yuan this year: Governor

It's estimated the gross domestic product of Guangdong province will surpass 10 trillion yuan ($1.45 trillion) this year, and the province aims to develop strategic emerging industries and future industries to realize high-quality economic development, its top government official said on Monday.

Guangdong Governor Ma Xingrui said in a media conference that over the years, the overall economic strength of Guangdong province has been constantly improving. In 2018, the GDP of Guangdong province reached 9.7 trillion yuan, which was 599.8 times that in 1949 (2.03 billion yuan), accounting for 10.8 percent of the national total.

At the meantime, GDP per capita reached 86,412 yuan, which was 148.2 times that in 1949 (73 yuan). Local general public budget revenue reached 1.21 trillion yuan, making Guangdong the first province in the country to have crossed the 1 trillion yuan threshold.

"The regional GDP has ranked first across the country for 30 consecutive years since 1989, the local general public budget revenue for 28 consecutive years since 1991, the total volume of import and export for 33 consecutive years since 1986, and the total retail sales of consumer goods for 36 consecutive years since 1983," Ma said.

He noted that to realize high-quality economic development, the province targets emerging industries and future industries. For example, it takes the lead in developing a 4K ultra high definition video system, which now accounts for over half of the national total production. In 2018, Guangdong produced 32,000 industrial robots, taking more than 20 percent of the total production of the country. Speaking of new energy vehicles, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhuhai in Guangdong province all realized the pure electrification of buses.

"In terms of the industrial internet, currently, over 3,000 enterprises in Guangdong are connected through the industrial internet. The information communication industry in Guangdong is also developed, producing 47 percent of the country's intelligent mobile phones, and we are actively working on the 5G network layout," Ma added.