Development zones play an important role in China’s economic development and opening-up to the outside world. Fujian was one of the earliest provinces in the country to establish development zones. At present, it has 97 development zones above the provincial level, including 24 state-level development zones (10 economic and technological development zones, seven high-tech zones, and seven special customs supervision areas). After more than three decades of construction and development, Fujian development zones have become strong drivers of industrial agglomeration and city-industry integration; they are also major vehicles of industrialization, urbanization and internationalization, empowering high-quality development. 

Fujian has added another state-level development zone! In late 2020, Ningde Dongqiao Economic and Technological Development Zone was included in the nation’s third group of new demonstration bases for mass entrepreneurship and innovation. As China’s largest base for new energy industry, the zone is home to two leading energy enterprises which act like a magnet for smaller enterprises. Well-known enterprises, such as Xiamen Tungsten Co., Ltd., Shanghai Shanshan Technology, and Shanghai Putailai, have all established a presence at Dongqiao. Together, these enterprises have formed a world-class industrial cluster for lithium power and other forms of new energy, boasting a combined annual output value of around RMB 100 billion. The leading enterprises in the zone are developing the core materials and equipment for power batteries in collaboration with universities and research institutes. Since the start of the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the zone has been Fujian’s largest source of new invention patents. The two largest enterprises in the zone – Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL) and Amperex Technology Limited (ATL) – have obtained more than 6,000 patents, consolidating their leading positions in lithium battery innovation and other fields. 

This is a microcosm of Fujian’s efforts in recent years to promote the innovation and growth of development zones, raise the standard of opening-up and international cooperation, and improve the quality of economic development. According to the latest evaluation of all metrics of development, Fujian’s development zones have maintained a strong growth momentum, as manifested in the following four areas: 

The scale of development continues to grow. The total output value of Fujian’s development zones surged by 11.8% year-on-year to hit RMB 1.42 trillion, accounting for 33.6% of the province’s total. The total tax revenue from these zones grew by 1.8% year-on-year to reach RMB 106.8 billion, making up 24.7% of the province’s total. The 10 state-level economic development zones in the province registered a total output value of RMB 347.01 billion, an increase of 19.8% year-on-year and accounting for 24.4% of the total of the province’s development zones.

The ability to innovate has been further enhanced. Government spending on science and technology in the province’s development zones increased by 5.2% year-on-year to reach RMB 6.06 billion. At the end of the period, these development zones hosted 2,760 high-tech enterprises, up 21.3% year-on-year and making up 94.1% of the province’s total. These high-tech enterprises secured 21,769 valid invention patents, up 4.7% and accounting for 49.7% of the province’s total. 

The intensity of opening-up has risen. The actual value of utilized foreign investment in Fujian’s development zones totaled RMB 16.66 billion, and the value of the outward direct investment totaled RMB 20.77 billion, accounting for 52.8% and 68.6% of the province’s total, respectively. Their imports and exports totaled RMB 752.18 billion, rising by 11.3% year-on-year and accounting for 56.6% of the province’s total. The actual value of utilized foreign investment in the 10 state-level economic development zones totaled RMB 4.13 billion, and their imports and exports amounted to RMB 188.81 billion, accounting for 24.8% and 25.1% of the total of the province’s development zones, respectively.

The efficiency of input and output has improved steadily. The development zones across the province have further promoted the intensive use of land. The levels of fixed-asset input and output intensity of industrial land reached RMB 4.004 million and 5.804 million per mu (1/15 hectare), respectively, an increase of 15.5% and 10.1% year-on-year. The average tax revenue per mu of the 10 state-level economic development zones amounted to RMB 408,000, and five of these zones, including Xiamen Haicang Taiwan Business Investment Zone, surpassed the national average in terms of tax revenue.