As a leader in China's reform and opening-up, Guangdong province has taken the initiative to align itself with international high-standard trade and economic rules, optimize its business environment and strengthen intellectual property protection, fostering a new ecosystem for high-quality investment development and making it a preferred destination for foreign investors, a former vice-minister of commerce said.

Fang Aiqing, chairman of the China Council for International Investment Promotion and former vice-minister of commerce, made the remark when he addressed the opening of the ninth Guangdong Investment Development Forum and 2025 annual Guangdong Investment Promotion Association (GDIPA) conference in Guangzhou on Wednesday.

Fang Aiqing, chairman of the China Council for International Investment Promotion and former vice-minister of commerce, addresses the forum on Wednesday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

"With breakthroughs in AI, robotics, blockchain, and computing power gaining speed in China, these technologies will not only inject momentum into the intelligent transformation of the nation’s real economy but also become the core drivers of its high-quality investment development," he said. "Guangdong has made significant contributions in this regard."

The chairman based his viewpoint on the great achievements Guangdong made last year.

Official statistics indicate that in 2024, Guangdong's investment in the high-tech manufacturing sector grew by 8.7 percent year on year; advanced manufacturing, 10 percent; electronics and telecom equipment manufacturing, 14.3 percent; and software and IT service industry, 42.1 percent.

"I hope that the Pearl River Delta will leverage its advantages to guide investment in upgrading traditional industries, developing emerging industries, and researching future industries, particularly in frontier fields such as artificial intelligence, biomedicine, and new energy, to create globally influential industrial clusters," Fang said.

He said that Guangdong, as a low-carbon pilot province in China, has demonstrated leadership in green transformation as the province boasts numerous national and provincial economic and technological development zones, high-tech industrial parks, comprehensive bonded zones and free trade pilot zones, with a solid foundation in green finance and low-carbon technologies.

Wednesday's event witnessed the presence of about 400 senior executives from Fortune Global 500 companies, listed companies, industrial leaders, financing service providers, as well as local investment promotion agencies.

Chen Jie, executive vice-mayor of Guangzhou and head of Guangzhou Development District (GDD)'s administrative committee, spoke highly of the event's role.

"The Guangdong Investment Development Forum, as the annual event of the Guangdong Investment Promotion Association, has built a bridge for government-business dialogue and industry-finance connection, making significant contributions to promoting investment and economic development in the province and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area," he said.

"This year's forum, with the tagline 'Rebuilding Consensus for Shared Sustainable Development', reflects a profound insight into global economic recovery and transformation trends and a positive response to the era's call for high-quality development."

According to the official, Guangzhou's fixed asset investment hit a record high, with the total retail sales of consumer goods and the total value of imports and exports both maintaining growth momentum in 2024.

The city recorded the establishment of more than 600,000 new market entities, with total R&D expenditure surpassing 100 billion yuan ($13.8 billion), and its GaWC ranking entering the ranks of global first-tier cities, all of which speak volumes for the city's strong development resilience and potential, he noted.

Chen encourages more business people to invest in GDD. "As a demonstration window for Guangzhou's high-level opening-up, GDD has attracted over 5,200 foreign-invested enterprises, including Procter & Gamble, Carl Zeiss, and AstraZeneca, with 330 projects from Fortune 500 companies and actual use of foreign capital exceeding $40 billion, making it one of the most densely foreign-invested areas in South China," Chen said, adding that the China-Singapore Guangzhou Knowledge City has gathered over 100 high-quality Singaporean enterprises, including DBS Bank, NCS and Biosyngen, becoming the top destination for Singaporean companies investing in China,.

One highlight of the forum is the keynote speech by Kishore Mahbubani, the founding dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. He shared insights on how to foster a world of diverse civilizations, multipolarity, and multilateralism, and how to respond to the new international landscape with Eastern wisdom.

GDIPA sets up its digital and smart consumption professional committee during the event. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

On the same occasion, organizers held ceremonies for the establishment of GDIPA's digital and smart consumption professional committee and for the recruitment of new association members while bestowing business environment innovation practice awards on 21 economic zones, service teams, and industrial parks in GBA.