(China Economic Roundtable) Economic Watch: China's economic development zones fast-track innovation with policy push

More than 40 years since their establishment, national economic development zones have made remarkable strides in advancing China's opening up and enhancing innovation, according to guest speakers at the latest episode of the China Economic Roundtable, the all-media talk show hosted by Xinhua News Agency.

National economic development zones feature clusters of strategic emerging industries, including next-generation information technology, new materials, high-end manufacturing, and marine economy and marine equipment, said Ji Xiaofeng, an official with the Ministry of Commerce.

China established its first national-level economic development zone in the northeastern city of Dalian in 1984. By 2024, the number of such zones reached 232 across the country.

Located in Suzhou Industrial Park, one national economic development zone in east China's Jiangsu Province, Suzhou HYC Technology Co., Ltd. has evolved from a repair business into a global leader in the flat panel display testing industry.

"When establishing our semiconductor division, we named the development team 'Team of Qomolangma,' symbolizing our commitment to tackling challenges in semiconductor testing technology and striving to reach the 'peak of technology'," said Chen Wenyuan, the company's chairman, who attributed the company's success to continuous input in tech innovation over the years.

Thanks to its increasing focus on R&D related to testing equipment for flat panel display, intelligent wearable, semiconductor and automotive electronics, Suzhou HYC Technology was recognized as a national high-tech enterprise and became the first company listed on China sci-tech innovation board.

There are more than 85,000 national-level high-tech firms in China's national economic development zones, accounting for over 18 percent of the country's total high-tech enterprises.

In 2024 alone, the national economic development zones accounted for nearly one-quarter of the country's utilized foreign investment and foreign trade volume. Collectively, they generated regional GDP of 16.9 trillion yuan (about 2.36 trillion U.S. dollars).

China has made relentless efforts to optimize the business environment in the zones to tap into their role in boosting economic growth and tech innovation, Ji said.

The Ministry of Commerce unveiled a work plan in late May to further boost innovation and high-quality development in the zones.

The plan outlined policy support for the zones to foster national major industrial and technological innovation platforms, and to encourage leading enterprises in the zones to form innovation consortium with universities and research institutions.

To consolidate the foundation of the manufacturing sector, the plan supports such zones to participate in national key projects such as technology transformation and upgrading in manufacturing, and encourages them to upgrade traditional industries through digital intelligence and green technologies, and to establish incubators and pilot zones for future industries.

Building on the institutional advantages the national economic development zones have achieved, the document has pledged to further improve and innovate the management models of the zones, which is expected to inject new vitality into the development of companies in the zones, Ji said.

She added that the national economic development zones will continue to develop strategic emerging industries such as bio-medicine, new energy, new materials and aerospace, and make forward-looking planning for future industries.

The document also promised more efforts to cultivate new quality productive forces in the national economic development zones, which has further increased enterprises' confidence in expanding input on innovation.

Focusing on the R&D on industrial intelligence and smart technologies, Nanjing Sciyon Wisdom Technology Group Co., Ltd., a national high-tech enterprise in Jiangning economic development zone in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, has established a smart factory that meets Industry 4.0 standards and employs a range of advanced automation and intelligent technologies to provide clients with customized products and services.

"In the future, we will intensify the research and promotion of new products and technologies such as industrial AI, and assist more enterprises in their transition from digitization to intelligence and smart transformation," said Zhong Congqing, brand manager of the company. Enditem