From November 2012 to 2016, President Xi, the core leader of Chinese Communist Party has guided China for the last four years. The people have received more benefits, the pace of comprehensive prosperity is speeding up, and China’s international status is rising. 

Four years ago, on 7th December 2012 for 11 days, Chinese President Xi arrived for an inspection tour of Guangdong. From Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Guangzhou, deeply rural areas, enterprises, communities, military and scientific research institutes, along the way, he inspired "three positions, the first two" goals for the development of Guangdong.

The “three positions, the first two" goals is to become the vanguard of the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics, deepening the reform and opening up, as a test area to explore scientific development, to take the lead in building a moderately prosperous society and realising socialist modernization of the party.

Guangdong is always playing an important role in China.20 years ago, at the crucial moment of China's reform and opening up, Guangdong was leading as an example of Socialism with Chinese characteristics. The total economic output of Guangdong had exceeded that of Singapore in 1998, in 2003 of Hong Kong, in 2007 over Taiwan.

20 years later, Socialism with Chinese Characteristics was ushered in a crucial moment. In 2012, China's per capita GDP reached $ 6100, in Guangdong it was more than $ 8500 stepping into the middle-income threshold. Can China’s economy achieve sustained and stable growth? Can China continue to promote reform and opening up? Can China avoid falling into the "middle income trap"? How can the Communist Party of China continue to push forward the cause of Socialism with Chinese characteristics? The whole world is debating the future direction of the rise of China as a superpower.

It was at this time, Chinese President Xi came to Guangdong, while giving Guangdong the important mission. President Xi’s "Southern Tour" is a symbol to open up a new journey for Socialism with Chinese characteristics.

For four years, Guangdong has yielded impressive achievements with the new concept of development, which proposed innovation, coordination, greenification, openness, and sharing developments.

——To position innovation and development as the core strategy, and vigorously promote the comprehensive reform pilot innovation action plan. According to statistics, Guangdong’s total effective patents for many years ranked first in the country, and Shenzhen has become the country's most innovative city. In January to August 2016, Guangdong’s accepted invention patent applications and grants grew 55.2% and 44.0%, respectively, and independent innovation capability has been increasing.

——To force the province to promote the revitalization and development of the eastern Northwest Territories, in a coordinated development with remarkable results. In 2013, along with the eastern Northwest revitalization development strategy, Qingyuan and Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Shanwei, the Pearl River Delta and eastern Northwest China joined hands to promote industry. The Pearl River Delta hinterland of innovative enterprises expanded to the eastern northwest, developing a "fast track" to speed up the integration of the Pearl River Delta industrial division of labour system, a leading economic development in Guangdong.

——Unprecedented efforts to promote green development and building a beautiful Guangdong achieved significant results. Green development has become the new business card of Guangdong. In the "Twelve Five" period, Guangdong exceeded overall national emission reduction targets, emission intensity per unit of GDP dropped by nearly 50%, and the province's Pearl River Delta region PM2.5 and PM10 average concentrations reached national performance goals two years in advance. At the same time, the province's GDP increased from 5 trillion Yuan to 7 trillion Yuan as Guangdong advances a beautiful ecological civilization.

——With the FTA as a testing ground, Guangdong has vigorously promote open development. Guangdong has built a free trade area in the Bay Area "Golden Triangle" to open a new space for cooperation within Guangdong and with Hong Kong and Macao. Since the formal opening, investment has shown explosive growth. In 2015 the total value of trade in Guangdong Experimental Zone was more than 200 billion Yuan, an increase of 40%.

——Promoting shared development. During the "Twelve Five" period, Guangdong invested more than 3 trillion Yuan in improving people’s lives. In 2016, the provincial government arranged livelihood security funds of 175.9 billion Yuan, an increase of 26.6 billion Yuan over the previous year, an increase of approximately 18%.

In the last four years, adhering to the new development concept and promoting economic and social development to a new level, Guangdong has demonstrated the confidence and ability to successfully achieve in 2018 the first comprehensive well-off society, at the same time basically realizing socialist modernization.

Source: Information Office of Guangdong Provincial Government of China