Guangdong Market Opportunities - Urban Economies with Various Characteristics

Dongguan City

Located in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong Province, and in the middle of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Economic Corridor, Dongguan City has an area of 2,465 square kilometers and its population is over 6 million. As an ancient city with more than one thousand years’ history, Dongguan is not only a modern IT city, but also an internationally reputed manufacturing center.

1. General Survey of Economic Development

The city has fully exploited its advantages in geographic location and attached great emphasis to the development of foreign-oriented economy, which is characterized by the pillar industries such as manufacturing and IT. It has now become an international manufacturing and export base in China. In 2003, the total import and export value reached US$ 52.11 billion, marking an increase of 17.8% over the same period of last year. Among which, the export value was US$ 28 billion, up by 18%. The contractual use of foreign investment was US$ 266 million, registering an increase of 32% while the actual use of foreign investment stood at US$ 1.754 billion, up by 20.3%.

2. Unique Advantages and Development Characteristics

(1) Sound Infrastructure: Dongguan ranked first in terms of electrical supply and second in terms of water supply among the prefecture cities in Guangdong province. National Highway No.107, Guangzhou-Shenzhen Expressway and Dongguan-Shenzhen Expressway are running through the city from north to south. The highways are interwoven vertically and horizontally, linking all the towns and cities, with passenger and freight transport reaching all parts of China. The railway customs in Dongguan Railway Station is a Class A Customs in China responsible for entry-exit inspection and quarantine of the through trains from Beijing and Shanghai to Kowloon. The city has also set up its postal communication network, cable TV network and Internet system.
(2) Established Industrial Chain. Dongguan has established a modern and complete set of industrial system capable of processing products of various kinds. A modern industrial system with several backbone industries including electronics, machinery, garment, foodstuffs, plastics, chemical, pharmaceuticals and building materials, etc. has been formed. Most of the industrial products in the world market can be processed and find their matching industries and products from “industrial biological chain” of enterprise groups in Dongguan.
(3) Computer and Information as Pillar Industries: The computer and information industry has become the backbone of the city’s economy. There are more than 3,000 registered enterprises in this field, manufacturing up to 95% of all the components and peripherals of a computer. Dongguan takes the lead in producing computer magnetic heads, keyboards and motherboards, monitors, power suppliers, scanners, drivers and mini-motors. It has also become one of the most important processing bases and procurement centers for computer and telecommunication products in the world.
(4) Great Potentials for Development of Industrial Parks and Zones: Dongguan is making great efforts to develop its industrial park economy, concentrating more on the development of Songshan Lake Science and Technology Industrial Park, which is assessed as the best one among its counterparts with the greatest development potential in China.