In accordance with the Guidance of the Fujian Provincial People’s Government on Promoting High-Quality Development in Development Zones (Min Zheng [2018] No. 15), the Notice of the Fujian Provincial Department of Commerce on Issuing the Measures for the Comprehensive Development Level Assessment and Evaluation of Development Zones in Fujian Province (2025 Edition) (Min Shang Wu [2025] No. 44), and the spirit of the Measures for the Administration of Development Zones in Fujian Province, the Fujian Provincial Department of Commerce organized the 2024 comprehensive development assessment of development zones in Fujian Province. The assessment evaluated the annual construction and development of development zones across the province using 44 indicators in seven areas: development scale, openness and cooperation, land intensification, technological innovation, green development, party conduct and integrity, and management services. The assessment results show that in 2024, development zones across the province achieved new progress in construction and development, playing an increasingly significant role in actively serving and deeply integrating into the new development pattern.

I. Steady Growth in Economic Aggregate. The development zones across the province achieved a regional GDP of RMB2,485.473 billion, representing a 7.9% increase over the previous year and accounting for 43.0% of the provincial total. Revenue from industrial enterprises above designated size reached RMB4,187.932 billion, up 8.6% year-on-year, accounting for 70.6% of the provincial total. Tax revenue amounted to RMB195.155 billion, an increase of 9.6%, accounting for 41.8% of the provincial total.

II. Investment Scale Stabilization and Rebound. The total fixed-asset investment (excluding rural households) in development zones across the province reached RMB767.445 billion, representing a 10.2% increase over the previous year. Among this, investment in public infrastructure totaled RMB209.994 billion, up 11.3% year-on-year.

III. Continuous Expansion of Foreign Trade. The total import and export volume of the province’s development zones reached RMB1,269.661 billion, an increase of 1.5% over the previous year, accounting for 63.8% of the provincial total. The development zones across the province (excluding comprehensive bonded zones) recorded a total import and export value of RMB1,124.405 billion, up 1.8% year-on-year. Of this, exports totaled RMB712.685 billion, a 4.3% increase, accounting for 57.5% of the provincial total.

IV. Improved Quality and Efficiency of Land Use. The development zones across the province achieved an average industrial land tax revenue of RMB300,500 per mu (1 mu equals about 666 square meters), up 3.1% from the previous year. Among them, 22 national-level development zones reached an average of RMB521,500 per mu, an 8.9% year-on-year increase, while 71 provincial-level development zones recorded RMB209,100 per mu, remaining essentially unchanged from the previous year. Excluding comprehensive bonded zones, 24 development zones had average industrial land tax revenue exceeding RMB290,200 per mu, and 57 development zones saw a year-on-year increase in their average industrial land tax revenue.

V. Steady Improvement in Innovation Capacity. The development zones across the province hosted a total of 9,536 national-level high-tech enterprises, a net increase of 873 from the previous year. There were 1,273 provincial-level or higher R&D institutions, and 66 national-level incubators and makerspaces were established. The number of valid invention patents reached 52,477, accounting for 49.3% of the province’s total valid invention patents. Fiscal investment in science and technology totaled RMB11.862 billion, a 10.6% increase year-on-year.

Looking ahead, the development zones across the province will thoroughly implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the second and third plenary sessions of the 20th Central Committee, as well as General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important directives on the work of national-level economic and technological development zones. Addressing the issues and gaps identified in the assessment, efforts will focus on strengthening policy guidance, deepening opening-up, enhancing innovation-driven development, and promoting cooperation between mountainous and coastal areas, with the goal of building demonstration and leading zones for high-quality development of the real economy and making greater contributions to the construction of an open and strong province and a trade-strong province.

List of the Top 30 Development Zones in Fujian Province by Comprehensive Development Level