Guangdong Province, China's economic powerhouse, released a series of economic data encompassing industrial output, foreign trade, foreign investment, and other key sectors for the period from January to July 2025, showcasing its economic resilience and dynamism.
Industrial output remains robust
From January to July, Guangdong's industrial added value of enterprises above designated size (referring to industrial enterprises with an annual main business revenue exceeding RMB 20 million) increased by 2.4% year-on-year, with the manufacturing sector growing by 2.8%.
Key industries provided stable support. The computer, communication, and other electronic equipment manufacturing industry rose by 6.9%; the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry increased by 7.1%; and the automobile manufacturing industry grew by 8.5%, with its growth rate accelerating by 1.3 percentage points compared to the first half of the year.
In terms of products, wind turbine generators, new energy vehicles, civil unmanned aerial vehicles, industrial robots, and service robots saw growth rates of 51.7%, 15.8%, 72.1%, 33.3%, and 21.3%, respectively.
Read more: Guangdong's industrial growth remains steady from Jan to Jul
Foreign trade maintains upward trajectory
In the first seven months of 2025, Guangdong's foreign trade reached RMB 5.4 trillion, up 4.3% year-on-year. This growth is 0.8 percentage points faster than the national average, accounting for 21% of China's total foreign trade.
Exports stood at RMB 3.44 trillion, up 1.7%, while imports rose 9.3% to RMB 1.96 trillion.
Foreign-invested enterprises posted the fastest growth, with imports and exports totaling RMB 1.68 trillion, up 5.9%, and representing 31.2% of the total. Private enterprises remained dominant, with RMB 3.47 trillion in trade, up 4.7%, accounting for 64.2% of the total.
ASEAN remained Guangdong's largest trading partner at RMB 889.23 billion, up 5.8%. Hong Kong SAR ranked second with RMB 675.48 billion in trade, up 8.5%, followed by the EU with RMB 643.05 billion, up 7.8%. Trade with Belt and Road Initiative partner countries reached RMB 2.1 trillion, up 4%, making up 39% of Guangdong's total.
Read more: Foreign-invested firms up 5.9%, leading Guangdong's foreign trade growth in Jan-Jul
Showing strong appeal to global investors
Guangdong reported a robust 8.2% year-on-year increase in actual utilized foreign investment for the first seven months of 2025, reaching RMB 65.67 billion, leading the growth rate among all major eastern provinces in the country.
From January to July 2025, the province approved the establishment of 17,000 new foreign-invested enterprises, a surge of 32.7% compared to the same period last year. In July alone, actual utilized foreign capital reached RMB 7.08 billion, up 31.2% year-on-year.
The manufacturing sector led the expansion with remarkable momentum. Actual utilized foreign investment in manufacturing totaled RMB 19.09 billion, growing by 17.4% and accounting for 29.1% of the province's total.
Hong Kong remained the largest source of investment in Guangdong, contributing RMB 46.51 billion, up 22.4% and representing 70.8% of Guangdong’s total. Investment from Macao reached RMB 2.18 billion, an increase of 10.6%. European investment grew by 18.3%, with notably strong performances from the EU (up 29.6%) and France (up 171.9%).
Read more: Guangdong sees 8.2% growth in actual utilized foreign investment from Jan to Jul
Reporter | Chen Jinxia, Dai Bosi, Huang Xinyi
Editor | Hu Nan, James Campion, Shen He
