Guangdong and Fujian: two provinces that have reached developed country levels

Guangdong and Fujian officially joined the club of developed provinces this year. At first glance, this is a significant step, but the complexity of development lies in the fact that there are substantial internal disparities within each province, which often go unnoticed by external observers. The fact that the divergence between urban and rural areas remains a serious problem becomes evident when comparing the indicators of the wealthiest and poorest regions.

How Guangdong Leads Among Chinese Provinces

In Guangdong, the five most industrial cities form the economic backbone of the province: Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Foshan, Dongguan, and Zhuhai. Together, they drive economic development, while Fujian is more concentrated: its economy is based on three cities — Xiamen, Fuzhou, and Quanzhou.

Guangdong is divided into four distinctly different regions, each characterized by its own economic dynamics. The Pearl Region (home to Guangzhou and Shenzhen) is the economic center, significantly wealthier than the others. The Western and Northern areas border Guangxi and Jiangxi provinces, with their economies remaining moderate. In the East, the Chaoshan area presents a paradox: many billionaires were born here, but most residents live modestly, and the wealthy have moved to Hong Kong, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen.

Internal Disparities and Population Facts

The key difference between the two provinces lies in demographics. Guangdong, with its 1.27 billion residents, nearly doubles Fujian, which has just over 40 million people. This enormous population difference directly impacts the total GDP. While Fujian’s GDP is not small on a global scale, it significantly lags behind Guangdong’s GDP, which has already surpassed the figures of Russia and South Korea. Analysts predict that in ten years, Guangdong will have the potential to surpass Japan and Germany in overall economic volume.

New Opportunities Through Globalization

Two years ago, people from Guangdong and Fujian couldn’t even imagine that their hometowns would develop at such a pace. This transformation became possible not only because of local industry but also thanks to the global flow of goods. Cheap grains, vegetables from all over China, and fruits from Southeast Asia and Chile are exported to the region, providing residents access to quality products at low prices. This has significantly strengthened their purchasing power.

With the spread of the Internet, Chinese people learned that an ordinary American or European does not live in unattainable luxury. This exchange of information changed the mentality and motivation of millions of people to work towards further development.

Vision of the Future: Twenty Years and Beyond

If the Chinese people make consistent efforts over the next twenty years, they may not only catch up with Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany but also surpass them. At this stage, the goal is no longer the overall GDP — which has long exceeded the figures of all developed countries — but income per capita. After all, China’s population is many times larger than that of any of these countries. There is a group of countries in the world that are actually similar to Guangdong and Fujian at their current stage of development — Poland and Greece. Guangdong has already surpassed their indicators but has not yet reached the traditionally wealthy regions of Europe and America. Ahead lies a deep transformation that requires not only economic growth but also structural changes in social and industrial sectors.