The booming southern metropolis has been and will continue to be an attractive destination for investors from China and abroad. Photo provided to China Daily

After undergoing years of reforms, Guangzhou has managed to make some headway in transforming its pattern of growth, and the service industry is accounting for an increasing share in the economy, according to the city's mayor Wan Qingliang.

This can be seen at least in two ways, according to Wan. It contributed more than 60 percent of the city's GDP in 2009 and, in 2010, it accounted for more than 50 percent of the total number of employees in all industrial sectors in Guangzhou.

"These figures indicate a new starting point for Guangzhou in its economic development," Wan said.

The modern services sector, along with other strategic growth areas like advanced manufacturing, has been given priority in development planning and resources deployment.

More than 80 percent of the city's fixed-asset investment went to the service sector in 2010, city statistics show.

The service industry achievements include the booming convention and exhibition business, finance, logistics, and creativity business, Wan said.

Its major events have included the Canton Fair, Guangzhou Expo, Auto Guangzhou, and a large number of trade shows for various industries. These have brought the city the "China's most dynamic city for conventions and exhibitions" title, for three consecutive years. And it took first place as "Forbes best business city on the Chinese mainland", in 2010.

In finance, the amount of deposits it holds, amount of equity transactions, and total revenues of financial institutions put it in third place, nationally, in 2010.

In the area of logistics, Guangzhou International Airport handled more than 40 million passengers and 1.14 million tons of cargo in 2010, putting it on the world's top 15 list.

The Port of Guangzhou handled over 400 million tons of bulk cargo and 12 million containers last year.

And, as far as the creativity business is concerned, the city's cartoon output accounts for more than 30 percent of the domestic market, while, Guangzhou International Design Week has become a major international event.

The mayor mentioned the advanced manufacturing industry, saying that Guangzhou's competitiveness in car manufacturing, shipbuilding, and nuclear power equipment puts it among the top three among all cities in terms of research, development and production.

(China Daily 06/01/2011 page16)