Guangdong province, China's economic powerhouse, recorded a GDP of 3352.551 billion yuan (approximately 462 billion US dollars) in the first quarter of 2025, marking a 4.1% year-on-year growth, according to data released by the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Statistics on April 22.

The growth rate increased by 0.6 percentage points over the previous year, showing sustained recovery amid ongoing tariffs frictions. The primary, secondary, and tertiary industries grew by 3.3%, 3.7%, and 4.3%, respectively.

Agricultural production remained stablly, with the value added by agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fisheries expanding 3.8% year-on-year. The growth rate increased by 0.1 percentage point compared with the previous year.

Guangdong's industrial output posted a solid increase. Value-added output of large-scale industrial enterprises grew 3.9%, up 1.1 percentage points compared with the first two months of the year. March recorded a notable 5.5% increase.

As China's manufacturing powerhouse, the province's critical manufacturing sector grew 4.4%, driven by high performance in several key industries. Computer, communications, and electronic equipment manufacturing expanded 6.6%. Electrical machinery and apparatus rose 8.4%. Automobile manufacturing surged 12.5% and general equipment manufacturing gained 11.0%.

Emerging sectors continued to inject vitality into Guangdong's economy. Advanced manufacturing and high-tech manufacturing reported growth of 5.9% and 5.3%, 2.0 and 1.4 percentage points higher than that of large-scale industries. The output of new energy vehicles, lithium-ion batteries for energy storage, industrial robots, and service robots increased by 29.9%, 83.5%, 31.3%, and 10.8%, respectively.

The service industry, which now comprises more than 60% of Guangdong's GDP, showed renewed momentum, growing 4.3% in the first quarte and 1.5 percentage points faster than in 2024. Particularly strong performances came from information transmission, software and IT services, increasing 7.4%. Transportation, warehousing, and postal services increase 7.1% and financial services increase 6.1%.

Freight transport grew steadily, with cargo volume up 0.9% and freight turnover rising 4.2%. Air cargo increased 9.6% in volume and 10.4% in turnover.

On the consumer front, Guangdong's CPI declined 0.4% year-on-year in the first quarter. Meanwhile, per capita disposable income reached 15,421 yuan, up 4.8% from a year earlier.

Boosted by policies aimed at encouraging consumption, Guangdong's total retail sales of consumer goods rose 2.5% year-on-year in the first quarter. While overall spending saw modest gains, online consumption emerged as a standout performer. Retail sales by large-scale enterprises through public online platforms surged 16.3%, with March alone recording a 31.9% year-on-year increase and marking the fastest monthly growth since 2022.

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