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China's economic recovery
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China’s manufacturing powerhouse cuts 2026 GDP growth target after missing mark

Guangdong province, an industrial behemoth hit by property and global headwinds, shifts focus in a strategic pivot amid national reforms

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Employees work on a production line for an electric flying car at a factory in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, on November 6. Photo: AFP
He Huifengin Guangdong

China’s premier manufacturing hub is recalibrating its economic ambitions, with policymakers in the industrial heartland of Guangdong setting a cautious growth target for 2026, signalling a strategic shift amid intensifying external pressures and internal regional imbalances.

The southern province, bordering Hong Kong, expects its gross domestic product to grow between 4.5 and 5 per cent this year, its governor, Meng Fanli, said on Monday while delivering the annual government work report at the opening of the Guangdong provincial people’s congress.

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The proposed growth range marks a downward adjustment from last year’s target of around 5 per cent but is in line with the 2026 national target reported by the Post on Friday.

The move comes after the province fell short of that 5 per cent target amid a persistent drag from the property market. Guangdong is home to major troubled developers such as Evergrande, Vanke and Country Garden.

Official data showed Guangdong’s GDP grew in 2025 by 3.9 per cent, year on year, ranking poorly among the mainland’s 31 provincial-level jurisdictions. Nationwide, the economy grew by 5 per cent last year.

The province’s economy continues to face a mix of long-standing issues and emerging challenges, Meng said in the report.

The provincial governor added that external headwinds persist, domestic demand remains underutilised and regional imbalances endure, while investment momentum is weak and enterprises face pressure on operations, employment and income growth.

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According to the work report, Guangdong’s policy priorities for 2026 include advancing the next phase of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area integration, reinforcing manufacturing as the backbone of the real economy, accelerating technological self-reliance, and fostering the joint development of various forms of ownership while stabilising external trade and promoting the development of a unified national market.

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Analysts said the more restrained growth target reflects a shift from headline expansion towards resilience and long-term structural upgrading, with policy efforts increasingly focused on innovation and manufacturing.

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