GUANGZHOU, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's manufacturing heartland Guangdong Province has set a GDP growth target of 4.5 percent to 5 percent for 2026, the opening year of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan, Guangdong Governor Meng Fanli said Monday, pledging efforts to achieve better results in actual work.

The target was set after taking into account development needs and domestic and external factors, Meng said while delivering a government work report at the annual session of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress.

Guangdong's economic strength has continued to grow over the past five years, Meng said, adding that the southern province's GDP rose to 14.58 trillion yuan (about 2.1 trillion U.S. dollars) from 11.37 trillion yuan. The province's digital economy remained the largest in China.

Guangdong ranked first nationwide in total GDP for the 37th consecutive year in 2025, according to the work report.

Last year, Guangdong's total imports and exports of goods reached 9.5 trillion yuan, up 4.4 percent year on year and accounting for 24.1 percent of the country's total increase. Trade in services topped 250 billion U.S. dollars, rising 12.5 percent, according to the work report.

Actual use of foreign investment climbed 11.3 percent to 112.66 billion yuan, while the number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises rose 38.7 percent to 36,000.

Gong Zhenzhi, director of the Guangdong Provincial Development and Reform Commission, said the province will continue to expand high-level opening-up, consolidating traditional markets in Europe, the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea while actively tapping emerging markets such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Middle East and Africa.

Industry will remain the backbone of Guangdong's economy, according to the report. In 2026, the province will continue to prioritize the real economy and manufacturing, accelerating the development of a stronger modern industrial system.

The report said technological innovation will serve as a strategic pillar for economic development. Guangdong aims to build a globally influential hub for industrial and technological innovation and accelerate the development of new quality productive forces in 2026.

Special emphasis will be placed on expanding high-level AI applications across sectors and deepening the "AI plus" initiative to promote broader use in public services and commercial applications.

In 2025, about 10,000 industrial enterprises carried out technological renovation and digital transformation. Output of industrial and service robots rose 31.2 percent and 11.2 percent year on year, accounting for 40 percent and 80 percent of the national total, respectively, according to Gong.

Guangdong also advanced reforms in low-altitude airspace management, launching a provincial integrated low-altitude flight management and service platform on a trial basis, while unmanned aerial vehicle output jumped 39 percent, capturing more than 90 percent of the national market.

"As a manufacturing company, we have received strong support from the government in our transition," said Li Yue, a deputy to the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress and vice president of Guangdong Guansheng New Material Co., Ltd.

"We have upgraded our production lines in stages through automation and digitalization, introducing intelligent equipment in key processes. The results were immediate -- production efficiency rose by more than 20 percent, unit energy consumption fell by 8 percent, and product consistency improved, giving us the confidence to take on higher-standard orders," she said.

"Traditional industries are the ballast of a modern industrial system," Li said. "As long as we remain committed to technological innovation, intelligent upgrading and green transformation, we will continue to generate new vitality."