Guangdong: The Epicenter Of China's Rebalancing

Guangdong: The Epicenter Of China’s Rebalancing by Dan Steinbock

China’s southern province, Guangdong, is emerging as a globally important innovation zone and consumer market. It moves into the future as it builds a post-industrial society.

The forces that once boosted Guangdong’s dramatic economic boom – industrialization, booming world trade, cheap labor and low-cost manufacturing – are fading. With the slowest growth pace in 25 years, economic anxiety is said to be spreading. That standard narrative is part of the story, but not the full story.

Today, Guangdong’s economy is a dual story about the demise of industrialization and the rise of the post-industrial society. If the focus is on the former, the story is about decline. If it’s on the latter, the story...