Photo taken at the top of the Canton Tower, a landmark in Guangzhou, on Aug. 7, 2022 shows the Pearl River running through downtown of Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)

Authorities in South China's Guangdong Province promoted policy supports to foreign investors at an event held in Guangzhou on Wednesday, offering strong incentives to major high-end manufacturing projects as the export hub leads China's industrial upgrading push.

For new projects established in Guangdong with actual foreign investment exceeding $50 million, a reward of at least 2 percent of the actual invested amount for the year will be given, with a maximum of 100 million yuan ($14.53 million), Zhang Jinsong, director-general of the Department of Commerce of Guangdong Province, said at the promotion event on Wednesday.

Zhang explained two key investment-attracting directions for the province. One is the manufacturing industry, and the other is a drive to get more of the world's top 500 companies and leading enterprises from various industries to set up regional headquarters and functional headquarters in Guangdong.

Priority will be given to industries such as semiconductors and integrated circuits, high-end equipment manufacturing, intelligent robots, blockchain and quantum information, cutting-edge new materials and new energy, among others, Zhang said.

Hundreds of representatives of foreign chambers and companies were invited to the event, where officials from cities across Guangdong explained their advantages and set up field trips. 

On the day, 74 cooperative projects with a total investment of more than 90.5 billion yuan were set up. Major foreign-invested projects included SK New Polyester Material Project, Sweden Hexagon Production Base Project, and Industrial Renovation and Upgrade Project of Liantai Group, according to an event document that the Global Times acquired on Wednesday.

China kicked off a yearlong campaign on Tuesday, themed "Invest in China," a strong move to attract foreign investment and help foreign companies better understand China's opportunities, as the world's second-largest economy pursues wider opening-up amid rising external uncertainties.

The activity held in Guangzhou Wednesday is the first among more than 20 to be held across the nation throughout the year.

"I am very happy to return to China for the first time in three years, visiting Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. I have witnessed the rapid recovery of the Chinese economy from the pandemic," Noel Quinn, CEO of HSBC Group, told the Global Times in a group interview on the sidelines of the event on Wednesday.

For all multinational enterprises, China's sustained and vigorous efforts to promote opening-up are exciting, Quinn said.