GUANGZHOU, the capital city of China’s southern economic powerhouse Guangdong Province, is expected to see its gross domestic product (GPD) exceed 3 trillion yuan (US$422 billion) in 2023, local authorities said yesterday. Over the past year, Guangzhou has achieved new accomplishments in economic and social development, according to Sun Zhiyang, the city’s acting mayor. Both the total retail sales of consumer goods and total value of its imports and exports have exceeded 1 trillion yuan for the third consecutive year. Meanwhile, fixed asset investment surpassed 860 billion yuan. In terms of digital industrialization, Guangzhou has constructed 15,200 new 5G base stations, bringing the total to 91,700. The added value of the core industries in the digital economy accounted for 13% of the regional GDP in 2023. The city has also accelerated the development of emerging industries, with the production of new energy vehicles exceeding 650,000 units, which represents growth of 1.08 times that of the previous year. The added value of strategic emerging industries represented over 30% of the regional GDP. Last year, the number of high-tech enterprises in Guangzhou increased to 13,000, while the figure of technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises reached 21,000. (Xinhua) | 