The skyline of Dongguan, Guangdong province. [Photo/IC]

The local authority in Dongguan, Guangdong province, projected the city's economy to surpass 1 trillion yuan ($160 billion) for the first time in 2021. If the projection comes true, Dongguan will become the 24th city in the country to record more than 1 trillion yuan in GDP.

Four cities in Guangdong, an economic powerhouse in South China, namely, Guangzhou, the Guangdong's provincial capital, Shenzhen, Foshan, and Dongguan, have surpassed 1 trillion yuan in their economic development.

The gross domestic product of Dongguan, a major traditional manufacturing and trade center in Guangdong, is expected to exceed 1 trillion yuan for the first time in 2021, according to a government work report to the annual local legislative meeting, which opened on Tuesday.

Dongguan's economic growth is yet to be announced by the local statistics authority.

The city's economy is set to grow by about 5.5 percent year-on-year in 2022, according to the report.

Jiangsu province in East China saw four cities - Suzhou, Nanjing, Wuxi, and Nantong - their GDP surpass 1 trillion yuan in 2020.

Shanghai became China's first city to exceed 1 trillion yuan in GDP in 2006, followed by Beijing in 2008 and Guangzhou in 2010.

Beijing became the first Chinese city to surpass 4 trillion yuan in GDP, after its economy grew by 8.5 percent year-on-year in 2021, according to sources with the local legislative meeting.