DONGGUAN, dubbed the “factory of the world,” in southern China’s Guangdong Province, reported a gross domestic product (GDP) of more than 1 trillion yuan (US$157.7 billion) in 2021, up 8.2 percent year on year, according to the latest statistics.

Dongguan becomes the 24th city in the country whose GDP has surpassed 1 trillion yuan so far and this further demonstrates the strong resilience of China’s economy.

As the barometer of China’s foreign trade, Dongguan’s foreign trade has been gravely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years. First a lack of orders and then a labor shortage as well as a shortage of containers had all affected the normal foreign trade of the city.

However, in January 2021, the growth rate of Dongguan’s foreign trade stopped falling and started to pick up. The total import and export volume of the year reached 1.52 trillion yuan, up 14.6 percent year on year.

Dongguan Ramaxel Technology Co., a DRAM module manufacturer, temporarily transformed its meeting rooms into staff dormitories during the hardest time of the COVID-19 outbreak last year, for the sake of a due production schedule and epidemic prevention and control needs. In 2020, the output value of the company was less than 2 billion yuan, but the figure notched up more than 10 billion yuan merely a year later.

In 2021, the industrial added value of major enterprises in Dongguan reached about 500.9 billion yuan, up 10.2 percent year on year, and its industrial investment increased by 25.3 percent year on year, showing entrepreneurs’ confidence in the future.

Overseas investments also continue to pour into the city. In the first three quarters of 2021, there were 76 projects with investments of more than US$10 million, involving foreign investment of nearly US$3.75 billion, up 111.5 percent year on year.

Such a rapid bounce back in its economic performances can be partly owing to the local government’s timely and precise assistance and coordination work.

Acting according to the circumstances of every local company, the local economic operation monitoring and dispatching headquarters rolled out a series of favorable policies and effective measures to bail out companies hit hard by the epidemic.

Another welcome change in the “world factory” is its upgraded industry distribution. Previously, it heavily relied on low-margin processing trade and labor-intensive industries.

Starting from Dongguan, Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) Ltd. is among the world’s largest original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) of sports shoes and casual shoes for world-renowned brands. At its peak, the company boasted about 150,000 employees. Due to rising labor costs over the years, the factory eventually moved to Vietnam.

Nowadays, the traditional best-sellers in Dongguan’s foreign trade, including clothing, shoes and hats, have been replaced by high value-added products such as smartphones. Mechanical and electrical products now account for more than 70 percent of its total export value.

In 2021, Dongguan’s high-end manufacturing industry grew rapidly. For instance, the output value of industrial robot products increased by 66.8 percent, integrated circuits increased by 22.5 percent and new energy vehicles increased by 62.5 percent.

Dongguan has vowed to take scientific and technological innovation as its engine to drive the city’s advanced manufacturing industry, a brand new blueprint for the future of the “world factory.” (Xinhua)