Chinanews, Guangzhou, July 23 – Based on the economic achievement made during the first half of this year, Guangdong Provincial Statistics Bureau estimates that Guandong's GDP for the whole year might reach 390 billion US dollars, more than the average GDP figure (380.6 billion US dollars) achieved by "the four little dragons of Asia", the Nanfang Daily reported.

 

In 1998, Guangdong's GDP reached 103 billion US dollars, exceeding the GDP figure of Singapore (82.8 billion US dollars). In 2003, the GDP in the southern Chinese province hit 191.4 billion US dollars, more than the GDP figure of Hong Kong (158 billion US dollars). It is expected that Guangdong's GDP in 2007 will surpass that of Taiwan (376.6 billion US dollars). If this comes true, Guangdong's total economic volume by then will have surpassed three of the four little dragons of Asia in fifteen years and is catching up with South Korea.

 

Information shows that since 2005, great changes have taken place in Guangdong in its efforts of trying to catch up with South Korea. In that year, Guangdong's GDP growth reached 45 billion US dollars, exceeding related GDP growth in South Korea (34.5 billion US dollars). This further narrowed the economic gap between the two.

 

Both Guangdong and the four little dragons have limited land mass and their economy is largely driven by export. This year, the export volume of Guangdong is expected to reach 379 billion US dollars, to surpass that of South Korea and Hong Kong.

 

It should be noted, however, that apart from total GDP, Guangdong still lags far behind the four little dragons in terms of per capita GDP, per capita expenditure, industrial structure and urbanization level.

 

Statistics show that in 2005, the per capita GDP in Guangdong was 2,980 US dollars, or one-fifth of the related figures in South Korea and Taiwan and less than one-eighth of the related figures in Hong Kong and Singapore. Such per capita GDP level was only equivalent to the GDP level of South Korea and Taiwan twenty years ago and that of Hong Kong and Singapore thirty years ago.