Fujian province city has piloted wide-ranging reforms, many of which have been replicated across the country; reached out across the nation and the world to build transport and institutional networks; upgraded economic pillar industries; and championed development

Xiamen, a vibrant coastal city and special economic zone in East China's Fujian province, has set its sights on high-quality development, driven by industrial upgrading and technological innovation.

Throughout the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), the city has transformed strategic visions into concrete achievements, establishing itself as a global model for sustainable and innovative development.

Despite facing complex external challenges, Xiamen's economy has demonstrated resilience. During the 2020-24 period, its GDP surged from 638.4 billion yuan ($89.9 billion) to 858.9 billion yuan, achieving two 100-billion-yuan milestones, while per capita GDP rose from 124,000 yuan to 160,000 yuan.

"With just 1.4 percent of Fujian's land area, Xiamen contributes 14.9 percent of the province's GDP, 26.8 percent of its fiscal revenue, and 46.9 percent of its foreign trade volume," said Huang Yantian, executive vice-mayor of Xiamen.

"Our energy consumption and water usage per unit of GDP rank among the best in China, marking a significant step in high-quality development," Huang added.

Leading innovation

Xiamen's growth is fueled by reform, openness and institutional innovation. In June 2023, the central government approved Xiamen's comprehensive reform pilot program. Since the program's inception, the city has yielded over 60 national pioneering reform outcomes, with 29 adopted nationwide.

For instance, Xiamen released the world's first guidelines for the safe maritime transport of containerized lithium battery energy storage systems, slashing shipping costs by 70 percent.

The city has also led the way in flexible conversion of mixed-use industrial land, integrated environmental access reforms and "nonstop operation certificate renewal" for both international and domestic ships, effectively cutting institutional costs for businesses.

Over the past five years, Xiamen has achieved significant breakthroughs in major reform areas. It leads the nation in marine and agricultural carbon sink trading volumes. The Xiamen Data Port project has progressed significantly, with the province's first data asset registration center established, advancing the marketization of data resources.

To optimize the business environment, Xiamen has combined fiscal policies and financial tools to support over 18,000 enterprises. Its "application-free benefit access" service has benefited more than 50,000 enterprises.

Also, the "efficient completion of one thing" initiative has reduced required application materials by 53 percent and on-site visits by 90 percent. As of 2024, Xiamen ranks first in the province for the number of enterprise-type market entities.

The city aims to become a strategic hub linking domestic and international dual circulations, integrating into the national strategy to foster a new development pattern. It has coordinated the development of seaports, airports and land ports, investing over 185 billion yuan in comprehensive transportation infrastructure over five years.

Improved links

With major projects including the Xiang'an Bridge, Haicang Tunnel and the Fuzhou-Xiamen-Zhangzhou High-speed Railway, Xiamen connects with the Yangtze River Delta region and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area within five hours.

Additionally, the city's maritime routes reach 54 countries and regions, and Gaoqi International Airport connects to 134 domestic and foreign destinations across 129 cities. Xiang'an International Airport is set to be completed by the end of 2025 and open by the end of 2026.

Xiamen's role as an open platform for national strategies has become increasingly prominent over the past five years, supporting BRICS cooperation, the Belt and Road Initiative and cross-Strait integrated development.

The China-BRICS Science and Innovation Incubation Park for the New Era, for example, has established cooperative networks with 45 institutions from 11 countries including Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, aiding the implementation of 138 cooperation projects.

The Global Ocean Negative Carbon Emissions research program, led by Xiamen University, has gathered 104 institutions from 35 countries and regions, accelerating the inflow of international innovation resources.

Xiamen has also built a cross-Strait standardization coordination service platform. It introduced the mainland's first local regulations directly recognizing Taiwan's professional qualifications and encouraging Taiwan youth to work and start businesses in Xiamen, driving a 34.7 percent increase in the number of newly established Taiwan-funded enterprises over five years.

Additionally, the city has leveraged high-level open platforms like the free trade zone to pioneer exploration in rules, regulations, management and standards. It included chemical-grade barite powder in the international maritime solid bulk cargoes code, resulting in Xiamen Port handling 60 percent of the nation's exports of this cargo.

In 2024, Xiamen's import and export volume ranked eighth in China, with cross-border e-commerce foreign trade growing more than 12 times compared to 2020. Platforms like the China International Fair for Investment and Trade have helped launch 796 new overseas investment projects and established 7,294 new foreign-invested enterprises over five years.

Industrial upgrading

Xiamen's modern industrial system has expanded and upgraded significantly over the past five years. During the period, the digital economy has exceeded 500 billion yuan and the marine economy accounted for 30 percent of the city's GDP.

Four pillar industrial clusters, including electronic information and machinery equipment, have exceeded 2 trillion yuan in total scale. Strategic emerging industries, like biomedicine and new energy, have surpassed 500 billion yuan in total. Moreover, the city has nurtured three new trillion-yuan industry chains in biomedicine, new energy and new materials.

Industrial competitiveness has continued to rise during the 14th Five-Year Plan. The research and development investment of industrial enterprises above designated size accounts for 2.52 percent of their main business income, an increase of 0.38 percentage points from the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20).

The comprehensive competitiveness of the new display industry in Xiamen now ranks sixth in China, and the integrated circuit industry is among the top 50 globally.

The city has accelerated the pace of its intelligent transformation and digital upgrading. As one of the first national pilots for digital transformation and new technological transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises, it has established seven national-level intelligent manufacturing demonstration factories. And, the digital economy accounted for over 60 percent of the city's GDP in 2024.

By building a matrix of innovation carriers and high-level platforms, Xiamen has linked industry, academia and research to tackle key challenges, promoting the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into productive forces.

This approach has developed nearly 100 leading products or technologies nationwide and globally, fostering the deep integration of sci-tech and industrial innovation.

"Over the past five years, we have focused on strengthening the dominant position of enterprises in innovation, strived to undertake the transformation of technologies from national universities and research institutes and promoted more sci-tech achievements from samples to products and industries," said Zhuang Rongliang, vice-mayor of Xiamen.

Wang Da, director of the Xiamen science and technology bureau, said that to accelerate the cultivation of new quality productive forces, Xiamen has clustered high-level innovation platforms, teams and achievement incubation carriers aligned with the city's industrial needs.

The city has introduced renowned universities, research institutes and leading technology enterprises, establishing over 30 new R&D institutions and public service platforms.

Furthermore, the government allocates no less than 10 billion yuan annually in fiscal science and technology funds, guiding special bonds, State-owned enterprise investments and social capital to support the construction of scientific research infrastructure and the innovation of disruptive and cutting-edge technologies.

Sci-tech facilities

Currently, Xiamen is home to 12 national-level sci-tech innovation platforms and 783 provincial and municipal-level ones. Notably, three innovation laboratories — Jiageng, Xiang'an and Lujiang — have produced landmark innovation outcomes.

The Jiageng lab, for instance, has transformed 270 achievements, tackled over 20 key technologies such as alkaline water electrolysis for hydrogen production, and incubated 31 technology-based enterprises.

The Lujiang lab has emerged as a national leader in the research of novel antimicrobial peptides derived from marine animals, naming over 100 different types of these peptides and pioneering a new direction in the field of marine biomedicine.

Over the past five years, Xiamen has implemented strategies for national rejuvenation, talent strengthening, and innovation-driven development. Its social R&D investment intensity reached 3.46 percent in 2024, 0.77 percentage points higher than the national average. The number of invention patents per 10,000 people reached 29.5; 2.1 times the national average, and 3.1 times the provincial average.

The city is now home to over 4,700 national high-tech enterprises and 213 specialized, sophisticated and innovative "little giant" enterprises.

In optimizing the integrated innovation ecosystem, Xiamen has issued a series of policies and measures for scientific and technological innovation leadership over the past three years, reforming science and technology management, investment and talent introduction and cultivation.

Looking ahead to the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), Xiamen will continue to implement strategies for national rejuvenation, talent strengthening, and innovation-driven development.

It aims to "promote the deep integration of sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation at a higher starting point, advance new-type industrialization to higher standards, accelerate the cultivation and development of new quality productive forces and strive for steady and long-term high-quality economic development", Zhuang said.