Most of the districts and economic areas in Guangzhou are seeing a GDP slowdown as the city undergoes an industrial upgrade. (Reuters)

Most districts and counties in this southern city reported an economic slowdown in the first half of this year, according to the municipal statistics bureau.

Local experts, however, said there was nothing unusual, as the city had been undergoing an industrial-upgrade process.

Eight districts and counties, or two-thirds of Guangzhou's total administrative areas, have reported a decline in gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first six months, with Nansha district experiencing the biggest slowdown from 62.9 percent in the first half of last year to 13.03 percent in the same period this year .

"The district government needs to make more efforts to prevent a further slowdown," said Ding Li, a researcher with the Guangdong Social Science Academy.

"It was like a car decelerating as it prepares to exit the highway," said Ding, adding that not only Guangzhou but the whole Pearl River Delta region is feeling a slight slowdown in economic development.

Sources with the Guangdong Statistics Bureau said that the southern province reported a GDP increase of 10.7 percent in the first half of this year, down 1.8 percent compared with the same period last year.

"The economy was slightly affected by heavy snowfalls early this year. But the GDP slowdown is more linked to the current industrial upgrading process in the city," Ding said in an interview with China Daily.

Guangzhou has long been dependent on manufacturing businesses since the country embarked on reforms and opening-up. But a great number of processing-trade companies have found it hard to make profits due to ever-increasing labor and production costs in recent years.

"The government has outlined a plan to shift from manufacturing businesses to a service-oriented economy. As a result, it has introduced fewer big manufacturing projects in the first half of this year," Ding explained.

The slight economic slowdown in the first six months would help push the city's service industry development forward, Ding said.

For example, the Nansha district government has outlined a plan to build a high-tech hub by 2020 in cooperation with Hong Kong. An annual investment of more than 40 million yuan beginning this year will go into the development of high-tech industries in the district.