The mission of the Commercial Service Guangzhou is to help American businesses compete and succeed in the South China market (the provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Guangxi and Hainan).
- Our jurisdiction covers an area of 569,900 square kilometers
- 225 million people live in this region.
As the first region of China to open up to overseas business, South China continues to be one of the most advanced and dynamic economic regions in China:
| Population: | 225 million (17% of China's total) |
| GDP: | US$ 655 Billion (15% of China's total) |
| South China Import / Export & Growth 2008 | |
| Guangdong: | US$ 683 Billion (7.7%) |
| Guangxi: | US$ 13 Billion (43%) |
| Fujian: | US$ 85 Billion (14% ) |
| Hainan: | US$ 5 Billion (28%) |
| GDP & Ranking in China | |
| Guangdong (1): | US$ 437 Billion |
| Fujian (12): | US$ 123 Billion |
| Guangxi (18): | US$ 79 Billion |
| Hainan (28): | US$ 16 Billion |
New! “ Focus on South China” Series
Gain local insight and stay connected with the latest opportunities in South China through the Focus on South China Series.
South China Snapshots (Ongoing Resource):
| AEC | Service | Education |
| Environmental | Logistics | Machinery |
| Medical Devices | Tourism | Windpower |
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What to Watch for in South China This Year:
Asian Games 2010: The 16th Asian Games will be held in Guangzhou, China from November 11 to November 27, 2010. Guangzhou will be the second city in China to host the games after Beijing in 1990. 41 events are scheduled, the most events to be ever contested in the history of the Asian Games.
Pearl River Delta Reform: The program would be carried out in three stages and aims to achieve a GDP of 7.25 trillion yuan by 2020. With regional integration of social and economic development among different cities in the delta region at least three economic circles are expected to take shape by 2020. The three circles would comprise Guangzhou, Foshan and Zhaoqing; Shenzhen, Dongguan and Huizhou; Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Jiangmen.
Infrastructure Projects: There are several infrastructure projects with design contracts and equipment tender opportunities, including new metro lines, old town revitalization, and new district development. For example, the Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and Guangzhou Metro Lines #6 & #9.
More on South China:
The area generally referred to as Southern China covers the provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Guangxi Autonomous Region, and Hainan Island. These four provinces have a population in excess of 225 million, and contain several of China’s richest cities, as the South was the first area in China to be opened to the outside world.
Much of that development, especially in Guangdong, has been fueled by the region’s proximity to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Taiwan. HKSAR has provided much of the capital, technology and business savvy that has made the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province China’s most prosperous region. Meanwhile, Taiwanese firms are the leading investors in Fujian, which is home to two of China’s wealthiest and most developed cities, Xiamen and Fuzhou.
The rest of Southern China is not as well off as Guangdong and Fujian. Hainan Island enjoyed a boom in the late 1980s when it was declared a Special Economic Zone, but that boom went bust when many of Hainan’s special privileges were revoked. Hainan is still trying to develop as a tourist center, but its appeal is largely to Chinese vacationers. Guangxi, home to famous Guilin, is largely mountainous, rural and poor. In the past decade, Guangxi has continued to speed up its economic development, and begun to capitalize on its role as a corridor to ASEAN.
The concentration of highly polluting industries in South China has created considerable environmental problems in the region. Furthermore, the population density (over 25 million in the Pearl River Delta alone) has contributed to increasing infrastructure problems for the movement of goods and people. This has led to an increased initiative to develop transportation infrastructure such as roads, bridges and mass transit facilities, as well as airports.
U.S. Commercial Service - Guangzhou
14/F China Hotel Office Tower, Room 1461 Liu Hua Road
Guangzhou 510015, China
Tel: (86-20) 8667-4011
Fax: (86-20) 8666-6409
Email: Guangzhou.Office.Box@mail.doc.gov