By Zheng Quanyi, Zhuang Huan, SFC, 21st Century Business Herald

At a series of press conferences held recently on "Guangdong's Achievements During China's 14th Five-Year Plan Period", Guangdong unveiled a report card to the world—from economic development, technological progress to ecological conservation, and other key areas.

Over the past four years, the province's gross domestic product (GDP) has surpassed three trillion-yuan thresholds in succession. In 2025, Guangdong's total import and export volume reached 9.49 trillion yuan, accounting for 20.9% of the national total, and has ranked first in China for 40 consecutive years.

As of 2024, the number of valid invention patents in the province reached 792,300, doubling the figure in 2020. Guangdong's comprehensive regional innovation capability has remained the highest in China for nine consecutive years. The province also leads the country in R&D expenditure, the number of high-value invention patents, and the number of high-tech enterprises.

In Guangzhou, three national-level university science parks—including the Sun Yat-sen University Science Park—serve as important innovation incubators. The Sun Yat-sen University Science Park alone has supported more than 1,200 startups. In other words, an idea here is very likely to grow into a company.

Shenzhen has seen strategic emerging industries increase their share to 42.3% of the city's GDP, and 11 industrial projects each with an investment of over 10 billion yuan have been launched. In Chaozhou, traditional "Guangdong-made" products have been equipped with "smart chips": intelligent bathroom products are now exported to more than 130 countries and regions. Foshan provides strong support for "Guangdong‑made" goods, boosting export logistics efficiency by 60%. It has also set up comprehensive overseas service stations for enterprises, paving the way for Guangdong's smart manufacturing to expand into global markets.

Zhongshan has been committed to cultivating "innovative drugs", with R&D expenditure exceeding 10 billion yuan for three consecutive years. Take Akeso Biopharma Co., Ltd. as an example. The company has developed more than 50 innovative drug candidates, 7 of which are already on the market.

Yangjiang has positioned itself as a hub for new energy, supplying an average of more than 84.1 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity every year to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It has built the country's largest wind-power equipment manufacturing base, featuring the most complete industrial chain in China.

In Jiangmen, 700 meters underground, the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO)—the world's most precise and largest neutrino experiment facility—has been completed. It has attracted more than 700 scientists from around the globe to explore the frontiers of the physical world.

Over the past five years, we have witnessed Guangdong's economic aggregate reach new heights, and more importantly, the quiet yet powerful surge of its innovation momentum. This strength now places Guangdong on a higher starting point to chart a new blueprint for the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

Chief Producer: Zhao Haijian

Supervising Producer: Huang Yanshu

Reporter: Zheng Quanyi, Zhuang Huan

Poster: Wang Bing

Photographer：Gan Jun

Overseas Operations Supervising Producer: Huang Yanshu

Overseas Content Coordinator: Huang Zihao

Overseas Operations Editors: Zhuang Huan, Wu Wanjie, Long Lihua, Zheng Quanyi

Produced by: Southern Finance Media Corp.