Foreign Trade Value of Guangdong Expected to Reach 160 Billion DollarsThe gross domestic product of Guangdong Province will reach 900 billion yuan (about 115.4 billion US dollars) this year, while the foreign trade volume is expected to hit 160 billion US dollars, said the governor Lu Ruihua.Lu told participants at the annual board of directors meeting of the World Metropolis Association that since China initiated its reform and opening-up drive over 20 years ago, Guangdong has learnt from the experiences of other countries' economic development and made great achievements in its own economy. Last year the province's GDP was 845.9 billion yuan, while in the first eight months of this year, its GDP increased 10.7 percent over the same period last year, he said. For many years Guangdong's export volume has accounted for some 40 percent of the country's total. Latest customs statistics show that in the first eight months of this year, the province's export volume totaled 59.35 billion U.S. dollars, up 26.4 percent over the same period last year. Lu told Joan Clos, director of the World Metropolis Association and mayor of Barcelona, Spain, that it was the right choice for the meeting to be held in Guangzhou. As the capital of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou's GDP accounts for one quarter of the province's total. He expressed the hope that the mayors at the meeting will spend more time seeing Guangzhou and offer their experience and knowledge for development of Guangdong. |
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