Guangdong Market Opportunities - Urban Economies with Various Characteristics

Guangzhou City

Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong Province, is located in the southeast of the province. It’s the largest seashore city in South China. The total area of Guangzhou is 7,434.4 square kilometers and the population of permanent residents reaches about 17.17 million.

1. General Survey of Economic Development

The overall economic strength ranks the third among the top 10 cities national-wide. In 2003, Guangzhou’s economy kept a momentum of sound development, realizing GDP of RMB 346.663 billion, an increase of 15% over the previous year. The total value of import and export by foreign trade reached US$34.944 billion, up by 25.1%, out of which exported value accounted for US$16.889 billion, increased by 22.6%. In 2003, contracted foreign funds was US$ 3.512 billion, while the actual utilization of foreign funds reached US$ 2.581 billion, up by 16.1% and 13% respectively.

2. Unique Advantages and Development Characteristics

(1) Guangzhou has superior geographic and regional advantages. From the international perspective, Guangzhou is located in the geometrical center of the economic rim of Southeast Asia and it is equidistant from Japan and Southeast Asian countries within a flight voyage of 3 to 4 hours in general. Guangzhou is an ideal international logistics and distribution base in this region. In terms of domestic position, Guangzhou is an open coastal city neighboring Hong Kong and Macao. It is the economic, political, and cultural center of Guangdong Province.
(2) Guangzhou has sound industrial foundations and complete supporting environment. It is an important manufacturing base in China. Guangzhou has developed 34 out of the 40 sectors listed in the national industrial category index. The modern industrial system featured by complete necessary sectors, comprehensive accessory capacity, stronger SciTech research ability and product R&D ability has shaken up and the city also has the capacity to take over the transfer of the international industries.
(3) Guangzhou has flourishing tertiary industries. Currently in the city, there are over 400 specialized wholesales markets, more than 15,000 institutions and 33,000 branches engaged in wholesales and trading. The number of retails stores throughout rural and urban areas surpasses 140,000. Currently, there are 2595 business establishments of different kinds of financial institutions in Guangzhou. Foreign financial institutions have set up 30 branches and offices. The number of business branches of various insurance institutions reaches 142.
(4) Guangzhou has sound infrastructure facilities. The sound comprehensive communication facilities in Guangzhou and the Pearl River Delta form a convenient communication network extending in all directions. Port Guangzhou ranks among the ten biggest ports in the world in terms of cargo handling capacity. Guangzhou New Baiyun International Airport soon to be completed will be one of the three pivotal airports in China. A vast railway network inside Guangzhou has been formed such as Beijing-Guangzhou, Guangzhou-Shenzhen, Guangzhou-Maoming and Guangzhou-Meizhou-Shantou trunk routes. Guangzhou is listed among the three international telecommunications accesses in China, also one of the three cores of the domestic inter-net, as well as one of the international accesses, and even one of the three centers of inter-net exchanges in China.