Guangdong province recorded a gross domestic product (GDP) totalling 6.52 trillion yuan (US$910 billion) for the first half of 2024, marking a 3.9 percent year-on-year increase, multiple Chinese-language media outlets have reported.
Of the province’s 21 municipalities, the northern city of Jieyang’s economy experienced the most growth during the period: 7.1 percent, year-on-year. The small municipality of about 1.3 million people produced GDP totalling 121.08 billion yuan (US$16.8 billion).
As expected, Guangdong’s two powerhouse metropolises – Shenzhen and Guangzhou – led the pack when it came to the size of their respective economies. Shenzhen’s GDP totalled 1.73 trillion yuan (US$240 billion) for the period, up 5.9 percent year-on-year. Guangzhou’s came in at 1.43 trillion yuan (US$198 billion), with a significantly smaller increase of just 2.5 percent.
[See more: The Greater Bay Area’s economic output last year neared US$2 trillion]
Foshan and Dongguan were the next biggest producers, with respective GDPs totalling 600 billion yuan (US$83 billion) and 500 billion yuan (US$69 billion). Shantou, meanwhile, experienced the third fastest growth after Jieyang and Shenzhen, at 5.4 percent.
Out of the 26 cities nationwide with GDP exceeding 1 trillion yuan (US$139 billion) in 2023, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Foshan and Dongguan were ranked 3rd, 5th, 20th and 24th place respectively.
Shenzhen’s robust growth in the first half of this year was driven by its industrial enterprises and foreign trade, while agricultural production, real-estate investment and foreign trade underpinned Shantou’s gains. Jieyang’s impressive momentum stemmed from its green petrochemical industry, though it also witnessed a surge in foreign trade.
[See more: Hengqin GDP up more than 6 percent in first half of 2024 compared to prior year]
Nationwide, Guangdong’s GDP makes up almost 11 percent of the mainland’s total. It is the top province in terms of economic productivity. Guangdong’s provincial government has stated that it intends to grow its economy by five percent this year, up from 4.8 percent in 2023 (when it came in at 13.57 trillion yuan [US$1.9 trillion]).
The national government has also set a target of five percent growth for 2024.
