China now has 179 national high-tech industrial development zones

Beijing (ANTARA) - China now has 179 national high-tech industrial development zones, following the State Council’s decision in February to approve the upgrading of the Xiong’an high-tech zone in Hebei Province to a national-level high-tech industrial development zone, as announced by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Friday (10/4). In 2025, the national high-tech industrial development zones produced a total output of 20.4 trillion yuan (1 yuan = Rp2,498) or approximately 2.97 trillion US dollars (1 US dollar = Rp17,082), contributing 14.5% to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), stated Yao Jun, an official from the ministry, during a press conference. Companies in these zones spent around 1.2 trillion yuan on internal research and development (R&D) in 2025, an increase of about 30% compared to the end of 2020, with R&D intensity reaching 6.1%, Yao said. According to the ministry, the national high-tech industrial development zones have become important centres for innovation and entrepreneurial talent in China. More than 26 million people work in these zones, with around 40% holding bachelor’s degrees or higher. The number of full-time equivalent R&D personnel per 10,000 employees in these zones is about 12 times the national average, the ministry stated. These zones have established strategic cooperation with industrial areas in more than 30 countries and regions, and have set up five cooperation zones for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from China and abroad, while continuously advancing international cooperation in industrial and supply chains in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), new energy, new materials, and biomedicine.