Guangzhou possesses ten districts and two counties, with the total area of 7434 square kilometers. The population of Guangzhou was seven million, two hundred and fifty thousand at the end of the year 2003. Guangzhou is a famous city with a history of 2200 years. It is the birthplace of Chinese ancient "silk road" at sea, the cultural center of South China, the original place of the Chinese Revolution and also the foreland of the economic development. Since the reformation, there have been great changes in China: the mental and material civilization develops very well; the constructions of the economy and the city are progressing at the same time; every social sector has developed quickly along with the life quality being improved.
1. The general economic strength is being enhanced
Since the "Ninth Five Plan", the developing rate of Guangzhou economy has been over 13%. In 2003, the local GDP reached 349.69 billion Yuan, which occupied 1/4 of Guangdong province and became the 3rd largest city in China. The per capita GDP is ＄5800. This rapid development makes it possible to gather the wealth: in 2003, the tax revenues reached 111.56 billion Yuan, contributing 1/20 of the total revenue of the whole country with 1/180 of its population. There is also great development in industry and investment. The industrial production value of Guangzhou in 2003 was 470.59 billion Yuan with the rise of 26.5% and the investment for the fixed assets was 117.52 billion Yuan, rising 16.4%. This half year, Guangzhou has obtained the production value of 186.55 billion Yuan with the increase of 16.4%, the rise is higher than the national level by 6.7%.
2. The increasing structure is being optimized
In 2003, the composition in GDP by industry changed from 3.4:40.9:55.7 of the former year to 3: 43.1:53.9, with the secondary industry increased by 2.2%. It is an important feature of Guangzhou that the capital-intensive and technique-intensive industries developed rapidly.
Guangzhou possesses 34 kinds of industrial categories among the 40 national categories, which makes it to be the city with the most complete industrial categories in South China. Recent years, the industry of Guangzhou keeps developing rapidly. The heavy industry becomes more and more important. In 2003, the production value of the heavy industry occupied 49.5% in the industrial sectors, which increased 6.4% compared to that of 2000. The increasing rate and the proportion of the heavy industry are both higher than the light industry since this year. It has become the main power to lead the industrial development of the whole city. In 2003, the three pillar industries ---- automobile, electronic information and petroleum chemical industry made the production value of 160.93 billion Yuan with the increase of 48.1%, among which the automobile manufacture had the great development. The output of automobiles attained 189 thousand, increasing by 94.5%. Guangzhou has become the important base of Chinese automobile manufacture industry. The production value of the high-tech products was 109.43 billion Yuan, increasing by 37.6%.
The tertiary industry in Guangzhou has a good trend of development; the status of central city of Guangzhou is being consolidated. Recently, the transportation, the storage and the communication industries develop at the speed of 20% per year; the newly appearing service industries such as consultation, education, community service and agency service etc also develop quite rapidly. Guangzhou has become the main market of the transaction of clothing, household appliances, aquatic products and computers, etc. It is a very important commercial center in China. Though the tertiary industry experienced the impact of SARS in 2003, it increased by 11.2%; the cargo throughput of the harbors reached 190 million tons; the total amount of the commodity retail was 149.43 billion Yuan. There are a lot of financial organizations in Guangzhou that is the financial center of the Pearl Delta and even South China. The amounts of the deposit and loan of RMB in 2003 were 867.67 billion Yuan and 612.73 billion Yuan, increasing by 15.4% and 16.1% compared with those of the early period of the year.
3. The city construction and the management level keep advancing
There is a lot of devotion in the city construction. The investment in the city construction from 2000 to 2003 has been 56.83 billion Yuan. Panyu and Huadu have been changed to be the districts of Guangzhou; the strategy to explore Nansha is being actualized. All this improves the structure of the city development. There has been the great progress in the construction of the modern airport, harbor and the information port. The new Guangzhou BAI YUN International Airport was put into use in the early days of this month; the construction of the information port has got the rudiment. The Guangzhou International Exhibition Center and Guangzhou Stadium have been put into use. The constructions of No. 3 subway and the appropriative route to the New City of Guangzhou Universities are being carried out. The perfect transportation system has been built up.
The environment of the city is being improved. The great progress has been made to build the city suitable for living and working. Till 2003, the landscaping rate in the constructed regions has reached 34.2%, the area of the public greenbelt per person was 9.44 square meter. Four sewage treatment factories are being built. The sewage treatment rate of the city will attain 70% this year. Recent years, Guangzhou has won the awards of "International garden city" and "Chinese perfect city for tourism", etc.
4. The city opens to foreigners more widely
In 2003, the total value of import and export of Guangzhou Customs was ＄34.94 billion, increasing by 25.1%. Among the value, that of export was ＄16.89 billion with a increase of 22.6%. The products of Guangzhou have been exported to more than 200 countries and regions all around the world. The transaction value of the 95th Guangzhou Trade Fair reached 24.51 billion US Dollars, which was the highest amount in the history. From 2000 to 2003, the amount of the used foreign investment in the whole city has been 12.16 billion US Dollars. There have been 118 multinational companies that are among the top 500 in the world in Guangzhou with 204 investment projects and the investment value of 5.82 billion US Dollars.
5. The social sector keeps developing
The sectors of science and technology and education also develop so fast. The total outlay of the science and technology performances is 14 billion Yuan, among which the outlay for R&D is 5.5 billion Yuan, occupying 1.6% of the GDP of the city. The progress of the science and technology contributes 50.1% for the industrial increase. The innovated system is being perfected. Guangzhou Scientific City, The newly built zone of Tianhe Software Garden in Gaotang are both under construction, and Information Garden of Huanghuagang is approved to be the first demonstration in the field of information service. Guangzhou Science and Technology Congress for the Chinese students abroad has been successfully held for 6 times, which has attracted a number of students abroad to come back to China for their carve-outs. The enrollment rate of children is 99.3% and the matriculate rate of university is 89.7%. Quite a few ceremonies are held in Guangzhou, such as the "Golden Clock Award", the "Golden Lion Award", the New Year concert etc. Meanwhile, a number of projects in the fields of education, culture, and medical treatment have been commenced, which will bring the great benefit to the people of Guangzhou.
The policies and measures for the employment and re-employment are being strengthened. Recent years, the unemployment rate is controlled within 4%. The social insurance system has been built with the lowest salary for the employees, the basic expenses for the unemployed, the unemployed insurance and the medical subvention, the lowest annuities for the retired etc. The reformation of the medical insurance system continues. More than 1.58million people take the social insurance and medical insurance.
6. The living level continues to be improved
The income of the people keeps increasing. The average salary of employees in 2003 was 28,237 Yuan, increasing by 10.4%. At the end of the year, the amount of the deposit of the people was 372.73 billion Yuan with the increase of 19% compared to that of the early period of the year. The income per person of the people in the city was 15,003 Yuan, increasing by 12.1%; and the pure income per person of the rural people was 6,130 Yuan with the increase of 5.1%. The increase of the income pushes the increase of the consumption level. In 2003, the consumption expense per person of the urban people was 11,571 Yuan, increasing by 8.4%. Housing, automobile, communication, education and tourism have become the new consumption focus.
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