Guangdong, the economic powerhouse of South China, has taken a beating from the global financial crisis, lending all the more urgency to efforts to upgrade the province’s industrial structure.

In the reform and development guidelines for the Pearl River Delta for 2008-20, a blueprint unveiled by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in January, the delta will be a new testing ground for China’s economic reforms.

The plan also sets a goal to build the delta into a leading global manufacturing and service industry base.

Chen Guanghan, a professor with Guangzhou-based Sun Yat-Sen University said, ‘The government-initiated plan, in addition to the pressure exerted by the global financial turmoil, has accelerated the tempo of industrial upgradation in the province.’

According to the China Daily in spite of the global economic slowdown, Guangdong’s hi-tech product output increased 15% to RMB2.2 trillion in 2008, accounting for 30% of its total industrial output. Exports of hi-tech products posted an annualized growth rate of 11.5%, amounting to $148.6 billion last year, accounting for 36.8% of its total export value.

The delta will seek closer cooperation with neighboring Hong Kong and Macao, as the NDRC plan aims to build the three regions into ‘a globally competitive’ and ‘vigorous area in the Asia-Pacific.’

The construction of a bridge linking Hong Kong, Macao and Zhuhai in Guangdong will begin later this year, with the central government contricuting RMB5 billion yuan for the project.