Dongguan gets ready for new growth phase

Mayor says Pearl River hub begins slower but more sustainable expansion to move up the tech ladder

The economy of Dongguan, a major manufacturing and trade city in the Pearl River Delta, has entered a new stage of development marked by relatively slower but environmentally friendly growth, according to Mayor Yuan Baocheng.

Yuan said that the city would boost industrial development and reduce energy consumption by investing more in information and technology to upgrade its traditional processing and manufacturing industries.

"Years of efforts to upgrade traditional businesses have proven effective as the industrial structure has been optimized and energy consumption for industrial use has been reduced," Yuan said.

Dongguan's economy grew 7.6 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters and its total trade expanded by 4.9 percent year-on-year, according to Yuan.

"The economy and trade results this year are within our expectations as we are still working to upgrade traditional manufacturing businesses," Yuan said.

Dongguan, about 140 km from Hong Kong, has emerged from an agricultural county to one of the major manufacturing hubs in the world after the city received investment mainly from Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan for processing and manufacturing businesses in the early 1980s.

But concern is rising over an economic downturn as the city faces the difficult task of remaking its industrial structure, an effort that began during the 2008 global financial crisis.

Prior to the crisis, Dongguan's economy grew by 18 percent annually for almost 25 years, according to Yuan.

"But problems such as over-consumption of land and energy and air pollution also emerged. It will take a long time to tackle the problems," Yuan said.

According him, Dongguan has more than 600,000 market players, of which nearly 40,000 are engaged in manufacturing.

"Dongguan's products are shipped to almost every corner of the world", Yuan said.

A number of leading domestic and overseas mobile phone brands including those produced by Apple Inc, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics Co, Huawei Technologies Ltd and Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd are made in Dongguan.

The city has attracted about $70 billion in investment from more than 40 countries and regions.

The city's trade surpassed $150 billion in 2013, ranking fifth among China's major cities.

"We are making more effort to promote the development of high-tech and advanced manufacturing," Yuan said.