National-level economic development zones post RMB 10.6 trillion in 2024 trade; five zones delisted
The Ministry of Commerce has assessed the 2024 performance of 228 national-level economic and technological development zones. The zones generated RMB 10.6 trillion in total imports and exports and US$26.84 billion in actual foreign investment, each nearly a quarter of the national total. They host over 110,000 foreign trade enterprises and over 70,000 foreign-invested enterprises. Five zones, in Guangdong, Henan, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning and Heilongjiang, were removed from the national-level sequence after weak assessments. MOFCOM will refine evaluation indicators and strengthen dynamic management.
The Ministry of Commerce has recently completed a comprehensive development-level assessment of 228 national-level economic and technological development zones for 2024. The results show that in 2024, these zones achieved total import and export value of RMB 10.6 trillion and actual utilized foreign investment of US$26.84 billion, each accounting for nearly a quarter of the national totals. The zones host more than 110,000 foreign trade enterprises and more than 70,000 foreign-invested enterprises.
In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Measures for the Dynamic Management of National-Economic and Technological Development Zones, five zones that ranked low in the assessment – Jiedong in Guangdong, Puyang in Henan, Hulunbuir in Inner Mongolia, Yingkou in Liaoning, and Daqing in Heilongjiang – have been removed from the national-level development zone sequence.
The Ministry of Commerce said it will optimize the assessment indicator system for national-level economic and technological development zones, improve the dynamic management system, and promote standardized upgrading and high-quality development of these zones.