China's Guangdong aims for 8.5 pct 2009 growth

BEIJING, Feb 13 - Guangdong, which accounts for about 12 percent of China's economic output, is aiming for 8.5 percent growth this year, the province's governor, Huang Huahua, said on Friday.

Guangdong's GDP growth slowed to 10.1 percent in 2008 from 14.7 percent in 2007, while its export growth tumbled to 9.4 percent from 22.3 percent, Huang told the provincial people's congress.

The province, which produces nearly a third of China's exports, has been badly hit by the global slump. Millions of migrant workers have lost their jobs as export factories have closed.

Huang described the trade situation as very tough.

"The economy of our province is closely linked to the outside world, and the task of maintaining stable and fast economic growth is extremely difficult," he said.

His speech was broadcast live on Guangdong television and relayed on the website of the official Xinhua news agency.

Despite the pressing difficulties, Huang said Guangdong would not relax its efforts to upgrade its manufacturing sector and would continue to relocate small and dirty factories away from the Pearl River Delta close to Hong Kong.

"We will strive to turn a crisis in the traditional development model into an opportunity for the scientific development model," the governor said.

Huang said the province would try to achieve "positive growth" in trade turnover, but he did not give a target for export growth alone.

To offset the negative impact of slowing external demand, Huang said the Guangdong government would spend 303 billion yuan ($44 billion) on 200 infrastructure projects in 2009, which could generate overall investment of 1.3 trillion yuan. ($1=6.833 Yuan)