Fujian Province lies on the southeastern coast of Mainland China and is close to Hong Kong and Macao to its south and faces Taiwan to its east. It is also connected to the two economically developed regions of the Pearl River Delta in the south and the Yangtze River Delta in the north. Moreover, its proximity to Jiangxi, situated to its west, and five other major central provinces enhances its position as Mainland China’s main window to the Asia-Pacific region.

Fuzhou is the provincial capital of Fujian. In addition, the province oversees eight other prefecture-level cities, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Sanming, Putian, Nanping, Longyan, and Ningde, as well as the Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone.

Fujian is also the country’s first national pilot area for ecological conservation with a forest coverage rate of 66.8 per cent. It has ranked first in the country for 40 consecutive years in terms of environmental achievements. It is no wonder that it enjoys the reputation of being clean and refreshing.

Economy: enormous potential in growth and competitiveness

In the 40 years since Mainland China’s economic reforms and opening up, the total economic volume of Fujian has risen from just over RMB6bn to RMB4.23trn. It has become one of the top provinces in the country in terms of economic competitiveness and is currently one of the areas in Mainland China with enormous potential in growth and competitiveness.

In 2019, Fujian recorded a GDP of RMB4.23trn. Total retail sales of consumer goods grew 10 per cent to RMB1.42trn and total volume of import and export trade stood at RMB1.33trn, a growth of 7.8 per cent. Moreover, Fujian has registered a growth of 3.3 per cent in foreign direct investment totalling RMB31.54bn. The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents increased 8.3 per cent and 9.8 per cent, respectively, to RMB45,620 and RMB19,568.

Policy advantage: Superposition of six districts in Mainland China

Fujian is the core area of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. It now operates 34 shipping routes to countries and regions along the Maritime Silk Road as well as freight trains to 12 European countries. There are also 73 flight routes and 121 foreign trade container routes connecting Fujian with the rest of the world. Unquestionably, Fujian is an ideal business destination and a transshipment hub.

In addition, Fujian also enjoys the advantages of a “multiregional superposition”. Its strategic position has been enhanced by favourable policies, along with aggregated strength from the National Ecological Civilisation Pilot Zone, China (Fujian) Free Trade Pilot Zone, Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone, Fuzhou New District, and Fuxiaquan National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone.

Industries of Fujian: Building a world-class manufacturing base

Fujian has made great efforts to build up and establish strong foundations for three leading industries: electronic information, petrochemical engineering, machinery and equipment. Industries including electronic information, new display panel, computer and networking equipment, and software and information technology services have all developed into clusters worth RMB100bn. For the petrochemical industry, Fujian had initially built “two bases and one special zone” in Meizhou Bay, Gulei and Jiangyin as well as five complete industrial chains in the province. The development of the machinery and equipment industry has been accelerated thanks to Fuzhou’s automobile and components industry, Longyan’s transportation and specialised equipment industry, Fuan’s electrical appliances industry, and Xiamen’s engineering machinery industry and ABB regional base.

Strategic emerging industries of the province have reaped an added value of more than RMB400bn. High-technology and high-end industries, including electronic communication and equipment manufacturing, pharmaceutics, tablets, new-energy vehicles and lithium ion batteries are also rapidly developing.

Fujian brands: Well-known around the world

Fujian Province has cultivated a group of self-owned export brands with proprietary intellectual property rights. The industries involved include electrical machinery, textile and garments, light industry, minerals and chemicals, construction materials, metallurgy, healthcare, food processing and poultry. The province boasts a number of regional titles such as “China’s Shoes City”, “China’s Umbrella City”, “China’s Porcelain City”, “China’s Stone Carving City”, “China’s Wood Carving City”, “China’s Famous Casual Clothes City”, “China’s Zipper City”, “China’s Clock City”, “Hometown of Bamboo and Wood in China”, “China’s Electrical Machinery City”, “China’s Plumbing City”, “Hometown of Resin Crafts in China”, “China’s Famous Food Stuff City” and “China’s Cans City”.

Foreign trade: Leading the country

In 2019, Fujian’s imports and exports value stood at RMB1.331trn, a year-on-year increase of 7.8 per cent and 4.4 percentage points higher than the national level. While exports registered RMB827.79bn, an increase of 8.7 per cent and 3.7 percentage points higher than that of the whole country; imports were RMB502.88bn, an increase of 6.3 per cent and 4.7 percentage points higher than the national level. Planning of foreign trade market, regional development, core businesses, commodity structure, and trading techniques will be further optimised.