(Yicai Global) Jan. 20 -- Guangdong province, which has led China’s regional economic growth for 33 straight years, has set a lower 5.5 percent target for economic growth this year after its gross domestic product exceeded CNY12 trillion (USD1.89 trillion) for the first time last year.

Guangdong's GDP grew by 8 percent to CNY12.4 trillion in 2021 from 2020, the provincial bureau of statistics announced today. The increase was driven by the traditional factors of foreign trade and manufacturing.

The region, which has the major cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, revealed its 2022 guidance. GDP is expected to surge by 5.5 percent this year. Fixed-asset investment should rise by 8 percent. Total retail sales of consumer goods may climb by 6.5 percent while foreign trade could increase by 3 percent. Value-added industrial output may be hiked by 5.5 percent. 

In 2022, the focus of Guangdong province is to further promote the building of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the demonstration pilot area of Shenzhen, said Acting Governor Wang Weizhong. 

The province will accelerate the construction of transport and digital infrastructure to improve connectivity regarding business systems, professional qualifications, and standards across the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, Wang added.

The 2022 predictions suggest a slowing pace of rising. The region's value of imports and exports soared by almost 17 percent to CNY8.27 trillion (USD1.3 trillion) last year. Its value-added industrial output surged by 9 percent to CNY3.75 trillion, basically returning to the speed of growth seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The province's cities haven't yet revealed their 2021 data. But the manufacturing hub of Dongguan earlier projected its 2021 GDP to surpass CNY1 trillion (USD157.7 billion) for the first time. It is predicted that four Guangdong cities, including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Foshan, could have passed the CNY1 trillion mark last year. That would make the province similar to Jiangsu province which has four such cities.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi