China’s Challenges in Achieving "High-Quality Growth": Insights into the Difficulties from Guangdong's Economic Situation*

China is pursuing a goal to "basically achieve socialist modernization by 2035, through significantly enhancing its economic strength, scientific and technological capability, national defense capacity, comprehensive national power, and international influence, raising per capita GDP to the level of a moderately developed country, and making people’s lives happier."

Although China’s major economic provinces (Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang, Sichuan, and Henan) are all expected to play active roles in driving the nation's "high-quality economic development," the economy of Guangdong Province has shown signs of slowing down in recent years.

Stagnation in the Guangdong economy is widely attributed to two main factors: (1) delayed structural transformation in traditional manufacturing and (2) the presence of extensive impoverished areas within the province. Although the province includes Shenzhen, a city experiencing remarkable growth driven by high-tech and innovation, and the Pearl River Delta region, which is highly regarded for its adoption of AI technology, these regional successes are insufficient to sustain stable growth throughout the province. Currently, Guangdong is striving to revitalize its economy through two main pillars: the "Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan," which focuses on integration with Hong Kong and Macao, and the "Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand Project," which targets rural development.

Difficulties in reforming traditional manufacturing and the complexities of regional disparities within the province are deep-rooted issues that plague many other provinces across China. Given that even Guangdong, which has the largest economic scale and highest tax revenue nationwide, is struggling to resolve these issues, it is highly likely that less economically developed regions are facing even more severe challenges. To solve these complex problems, the central and local governments must share information firmly and continue to make steady efforts.