GDP (gross domestic product) per capita in the southeastern city of Guangzhou is expected to exceed US$10,000 in 2006, according to local authorities.

With seven million registered residents, Guangzhou, capital of China's richest province, Guangdong, will see GDP reach 623.6 billion yuan (about US$80 billion) in 2006, 14.4 percent higher than 2005, said city mayor Zhang Guangning in a draft report on the work of the city government.

"The breakthrough in GDP per capita indicates that Guangzhou has become China's first developed city by World Bank standards," said Peng Peng, a researcher with the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences.

Guangzhou's per capita GDP exceeded US$8,500 in 2005, with the Engel coefficient -- which measures the proportion of income that is spent on food -- down to 38 percent.

Statistics show that the economic growth is mainly driven by the automobile, petrochemical, electronics and communications equipment industries.

But the city has decided to hold growth to 12 percent as the national focus shifts from chasing GDP expansion at all costs to achieving balanced, sustainable development, Zhang said.

"The move matches the provincial target to lower the GDP growth rate to nine percent amid efforts to optimize economic structures and deepen reforms."

"By slowing growth, we aim to achieve a balance between economic development, environmental protection and the use of resources," said Huang Huahua, governor of Guangdong.

(Xinhua News Agency January 5, 2007)