Guangzhou's industry has a low degree of specialization relative to other large Chinese cities. In the 1990s, Guangzhou attempted to diversify its industrial base, adding export-oriented light industry such as clothing and leather goods to the heavy industries which had been emphasized in the 1980s. In addition, Guangzhou shifted its heavy industrial focus from machine-building, pharmaceuticals, and metallurgy to transport equipment, chemicals, and building materials.

A chemical factory in Guangzhou.

Light industry now accounts for about half of Guangzhou's jobs. The nearby Pearl River Delta region provides agricultural products and a vast labour supply that has helped to build the area's industrial base. Primary light industries in Guangzhou include textiles, food processing, consumer electronics, household durables, bicycles, and motorcycles. In addition, Guangzhou has begun exploiting backwards linkages to heavier supporting industries, including metallurgy and petrochemicals.

Guangzhou's light industry is typically labour-intensive with low skill requirements. It also emphasizes design and product diversity,which suggests that it is following Hong Kong's lead in export-oriented industry. Indeed, many of Guangzhou's industries are intimately tied to Hong Kong ventures, and the region is becoming more and more economically integrated.

Guangzhou's industrial success is primarily due to Foreign Direct Investment, which came into the region with the Open Door Policy of the late 1970s. The creation of Economic and Technological Development Zones has facilitated the industrialization of Guangzhou and helped to attract foreign capital, as well as attempting to give focus to the rapid industrial growth that has occurred over the past 20 years.