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In China’s richest province, not every city is in the fast lane
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Shuttered storefronts at a wholesale market for building materials in Foshan's Shagang village.
ST PHOTO: JOYCE ZK LIM
- Foshan's economy is suffering due to China's property slump, with sales drastically falling, impacting manufacturing tied to real estate.
- Shenzhen's high-tech sector, including robotics and AI, cushions the real estate blow, achieving 5.5% growth versus Foshan's 1.6%.
- Guangdong province faces challenges transitioning to "new quality productive forces," with emerging industries not yet compensating for traditional sector decline.
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FOSHAN/SHENZHEN, Guangdong - Shuttered storefronts bearing “for rent” signs pepper a once-busy building materials market in Foshan, one of many in the city now hard-hit by China’s property slump.
Shopkeepers who remain say business has rarely been worse, in a glimpse of the slowdown that has gripped the manufacturing heartland in Guangdong province.
