Guangzhou's economy got off to a strong start in the first quarter recording growth of 8.2 percent, the highest for the city since 2014.

The Guangdong capital's economy is dominated by manufacturing, technology, hub construction and foreign trade.

Industrial electricity consumption and rail freight volume peaked at 6 percent and 10.7 percent respectively, the highest levels in five years. The two indicators show that the economy is moving in the right direction.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI), a vital indicator in manufacturing, rose more than 50 percent, benefiting the three pillar industries of petroleum, auto manufacture, and electronics, whose combined output value grew 12.4 percent.

Production in the auto industry grew 22 percent year-on-year, with 680,000 vehicles rolling of the line – 25 percent higher than the same period last year.

The throughput capacity of shipping and aviation stayed atop the national average growth rate at 11 percent and 12.5 percent respectively.

Guangzhou foreign trade was also above the national average at 22 percent.

At present, there are more than 260 major projects underway, including those in highly-valued newly emerging industries such as IAB (information technology, artificial intelligence, bio-pharmaceutical), attracting 93 billion yuan ($13.5 billion) in funds.

Newly-manufactured vehicles await distribution at Guangzhou Automobile Group in automobile city, Panyu district, Guangzhou. [Photo by Li Xuyang/dayoo.com]