Guangzhou has focused on developing emerging industries such as new energy and new materials (NEM) to optimize its industrial structure and accelerate its economy in recent years.

It comes on the back of the success the Guangdong province capital has had in promoting information and technology, artificial intelligence and biomedicine (IAB) industries. For example, Cisco, the global leader in IT and networking is set to build China's first intelligent manufacturing base in Guangzhou.

At present the city is paying the same amount of attention to the development of new energy, new materials and IAB industries.

The local government plans to gain output value worth 360 billion yuan ($54.37 billion) from new materials and 120 billion yuan from new energy by the end of 2019, with a new material cluster and a national new energy R&D base established, according to a plan released in August.

Guangzhou is giving priority to developing NEM and new energy as they are cutting edge industries the world over; combustible ice to become a hotly contested global resource in the near future.

The city's own Guangzhou Automobile Group has invested 45 billion yuan in building a new energy automobile industrial park and Kingfa Science and Technology, China's largest modified plastic manufacturing base is headquartered in Guangzhou.

The local government has also launched favorable policies to encourage new energy development, such as a preferential policy for gaining plate numbers of new energy vehicles.