Guangdong, as one of the most economically powerful provinces in China, has long been facing a profound and structural issue - economic imbalance.

Since the reform and opening - up in the late 1970s, Guangdong, thanks to its geographical proximity to Hong Kong and Macao and low manufacturing costs, has attracted a large amount of capital both from within and outside the country. However, it's mainly the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region that has reaped the benefits. In many contexts, when people mention Guangdong, they actually mean the PRD, and vice versa.

The economic prosperity of the PRD is not only due to its geographical location but also based on a complex fiscal and interest - distribution pattern. This pattern has led to the extension of Guangdong's imbalance from the PRD to other areas.

In the early days of industrialization, northern Guangdong played a key role as the rear area of Guangzhou. But during the industrial transformation, due to development conditions and policy restrictions, it has gradually been marginalized. For example, Heyuan and Shaoguan, as the water sources of the PRD, are restricted by strict ecological protection policies, and their industrial development is blocked, being positioned as the "back garden" of the PRD with limited development potential.

Compared with northern Guangdong, eastern and western Guangdong have relatively more resources and development conditions. For instance, Zhanjiang has good port conditions and plains, and Chaoshan has the status of a special economic zone and a strong overseas - Chinese - related economic foundation. However, due to policy - tilting towards the PRD and insufficient inland connections, after China's entry into the WTO, the PRD, with its industrial clusters, has rapidly developed, widening the economic gap with eastern and western Guangdong.

After the 2008 global financial crisis, Guangdong implemented the "Double Transfer" strategy from 2009 - 2015, aiming to transfer industries and labor to eastern, western, and northern Guangdong. But much of the capital flowed to Jiangxi, Hunan, etc., further suppressing the development of these areas, making them the economic hinterland of the PRD and losers in the central - local game.

Nowadays, the non - PRD areas account for only about 20% of Guangdong's GDP, and the gap is likely to continue to widen. In terms of per capita GDP, the non - PRD areas are even lower than Guizhou province. If they were an independent province, they might rank at the bottom in the country.

Even within the PRD, the development pattern is also unbalanced. Guangzhou and Shenzhen are at the first tier, constantly absorbing profits with their financial and technological resources. While cities like Foshan, Dongguan, and Huizhou are more like appendages of the manufacturing industry.

Take Zhongshan as an example. Although it once had a glorious period of industrial supporting development, in recent years, it has been difficult to break through, being trapped in the bottleneck of low - and medium - end manufacturing and gradually falling behind in the internal competition of the PRD. Jiangmen and Zhaoqing urban areas have become like "filler" retirement cities in the Greater Bay Area.

This regional differentiation is not only geographical but also reflected in the differentiation of people and social classes. In the urban space of the PRD, with the pursuit of profit by capital and reproduction, gentrification is intensifying. Local indigenous residents and migrant workers are gradually excluded from the core economic areas.

The villagers who got rich from demolition in CBD and new - town construction have become a new rentier class. They may look ordinary but are actually invisible rich people in the city. Meanwhile, many old - time Guangdong employees in the system are marginalized in the fierce urban competition, and their children are more likely to become the proletariat in the service industry, gradually being replaced by new immigrants.

Undoubtedly, the "Wild - Goose - Flying - Formation" model of Guangdong's economic development once played a huge role in the early days of industrial development. Non - PRD areas were responsible for energy supply, labor output, and primary - industry support, while the PRD focused on manufacturing and modern service industries. However, the limitations of this system are gradually emerging. In particular, in the past two years, Guangdong's economic growth rate has been continuously lower than the national average.

Due to the unbalanced economic distribution within the province, Guangdong's fiscal system has, to a certain extent, strengthened the characteristics of a three - level fiscal system. After cities like Guangzhou, Foshan, and Dongguan hand in fiscal revenues to the provincial and central governments, the funds they actually retain are limited compared with those in Shenzhen and similar cities in Jiangsu. This makes them lack