From January to November this year, Guangzhou's foreign trade imports and exports volume have already exceeded one trillion yuan (1007.49 billion yuan), a year-on-year increase of 2.4%, and the full year total is expected to reach a new level of 1.1 trillion yuan, according to the Guangzhou Municipal Commerce Bureau, at a press conference on the achievements of foreign trade, foreign investment, outsourcing, foreign economic cooperation and foreign intellectual resources held on December 20.
In February of this year, Guangzhou introduced an action plan on foreign trade, foreign investment, outsourcing, foreign economic cooperation and foreign intellectual resources, proposing 22 measures to better shape new advantages in international cooperation and competition.
In terms of actual use of foreign investment, The Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone has ranked top in the nation for five consecutive years, with a cumulative total of 362 Fortune Global 500 companies investing in Guangzhou. In the first 11 months, 7,558 new foreign-invested enterprises were established, a year-on-year increase of 26.9%; the total execution amount of service outsourcing was 18.34 billion USD, a growth of 4.6%; in the matter of new investment agreements, the amount for outward investment was 2.39 billion USD, a growth of 43.7%.
In 2024, important platforms such as the Canton Fair have been fully utilized. The 135th and 136th Canton Fairs have set new historical records in the number of buyers and the amount of intended transactions, with the intended transaction amount of the Guangzhou delegation accounting for over one-tenth of the total transaction amount.
The city has also formed a new opening-playout of "1+2+4+4+11" , namely the Nansha Free Trade Zone, 2 import demonstration zones (Nansha and Huangpu), 4 national economic and technological development zones (Guangzhou, Nansha, Zengcheng, and Huadu), 4 comprehensive bonded zones (Huangpu, Nansha, Baiyun Airport, and Knowledge City), and 11 foreign trade transformation and upgrading bases.
In trade and services, in July of this year, with the approval of the State Council, Guangzhou became the only city to conduct full-scale pilot in business areas including non-profit medical and elderly care institutions, travel agencies, entertainment venues, commercial performances, telecommunications services, and social surveys. In order to recruit more foreign talents, Guangzhou has also actively advance the pilot program for the recognition of foreign high-level talent as one of the first in the nation.
Next, Guangzhou will continue to play a leading role in opening up to enhance its status as an international business and trade center. To this end, Guangzhou is committed to strengthening reforms in optimizing the Canton Fair and supporting Nansha District to develop, and step up building the hub for international logistics and resource allocation for commodities.