Central China’s Hubei province issued a series of new measures, aiming to build a new development mechanism for development zones in the province, according to local media reports.
Hubei officials said the new measures are called Implementation Opinions on Promoting Innovation and Improvement of Development Zones and Creating New Heights of Reform and Opening-up.
They said that to date, there are 103 development zones in the province, including 22 national development zones and 81 provincial development zones.
The national development zones include seven economic development zones, 12 high-tech zones and three customs special supervision zones.
The development zones have become one of the growth engines of regional economic development, with their GDP accounting for 44.2 percent of the province’s total GDP in 2019.
The Opinions put forward a total of 20 policy measures in five areas: liberalizing reform autonomy, accelerating the development of a modern industrial system, improving the quality and level of an open economy, enhancing innovation-driven development capabilities and strengthening guarantees.
Officials said Hubei province will support the development zones to expand and encourage well-developed development zones to take advantage of industry, capital, talent and management.
This will be in order to carry out spatial integration, resource integration and industrial integration of industrial parks that are close to each other and have homogeneous industrial connections -- and promote the expansion and upgrading of development zones.
Officials said that in terms of industry, the province will deepen the integration of 5G, artificial intelligence, the industrial internet and other new-generation information technologies and manufacturing.
It will further develop emerging industries such as high-end equipment, biology, new materials, green and low-carbon industries and digital creativity.
