A monthly review of Shenzhen's high-quality economic development in 2024 (III): Driving high-quality development through new quality productive forces, and accelerating efforts to build up new momentum and strengths for industrial development
Bipedal robots developed by a Shenzhen-based company were seen traversing the Tanglang Mountain—they were undergoing a field test in complex terrain. In the last three months, the biomedical innovation center in Guangming Science City connected with over 30 high-tech companies, with a focus on multiple disruptive technologies. BYD rolled off its 7 millionth new energy vehicle, setting a new sales record. New consumer trends drew customer traffic in major CBDs…
A fresh picture of high-quality development has unfolded in Shenzhen. The city takes Chinese modernization as its top political priority and high-quality development as its primary task. It is boosting self-reliance and strength in science and technology, developing new quality productive forces, promoting new industrialization, and accelerating efforts to build up new momentum and strengths for industrial development. In the first quarter of 2024, Shenzhen's GDP stood at RMB 831.498 billion, representing year-on-year (YoY) growth of 6.4%, as the regional economy sustained recovery momentum and got off to a good start.
Staying at the forefront: Solidifying the foundation for advanced manufacturing
Statistics show that in Q1 2024, the industrial added value of enterprises above designated size in Shenzhen rose by 11.5% YoY, up 7.0 percentage points over the same period of the previous year. The industrial added value of the manufacturing sector went up by 11.8% YoY, while that of the high-tech manufacturing climbed by 13.1% YoY.
As a leading industrial city in China, Shenzhen boasts a robust manufacturing foundation. Large enterprises such as Huawei, BYD, CIMC and TCL CSOT are leading their industries, while small and medium-sized enterprises such as Mindray, DJI and Han's Laser are also thriving.
Shenzhen is driving the rapid development of new quality productive forces through new industrialization, focusing on developing "20+8" industrial clusters with advanced manufacturing as the mainstay, and expediting the high-end, intelligent, and green development of the manufacturing industry.
New quality productive forces are developing fast. Agile intelligent robots have been adopted in YOUIBOT Robotics' factory to transport wafers to the next production lines. According to the company's officers, composite mobile robots have become a "powerful tool" for many semiconductor factories worldwide as they can be used to enable stable and continuous movement of wafers between production lines, which is essential to 24/7 unmanned production.
Bi Yalei, Secretary-General of Shenzhen Robotics Association, stressed that the positive macroeconomic growth, continuous benefits of favorable policies, and ongoing innovation have constituted a favorable development environment for the robot industry in Shenzhen. The past year saw rapid growth in emerging fields such as humanoid robots in the city, characterized by nationally leading industrial investment and financing.
Statistics show that Shenzhen's robot industry has strong innovation capabilities, with a surge in both patent applications and grants over the past decade. The number of patents granted last year increased by approximately 4.7 times over 2015. An increasing number of entrepreneurs is entering the sector. Over 10,000 new firms were registered last year, and the total output value of the entire industry reached RMB 179.7 billion.
The low-altitude economy is taking off amidst economic growth. Today, university students in Shenzhen can get food delivered by UAVs. On March 3, Meituan officially launched its first UAV delivery route at Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School. This year, driven by industrial growth, UAV delivery, aerial taxis, and low-altitude tourism and other tech advances are truly becoming part of the daily life of Shenzhen residents.
As a pillar of the low-altitude economy, the UAV industry has registered an annual growth rate of over 20%. The low-altitude economy is becoming a new growth driver of Shenzhen. In terms of regional resource distribution, the number of low-altitude economic companies in Shenzhen ranks first in the country, followed by Guangzhou and Beijing.
Shenzhen is introducing a string of policies to advance the construction of low-altitude intelligent infrastructure and establish the networks of infrastructure, air to ground, air routes and services, while putting in place a UAV air traffic management system. The city is attracting large companies engaged in UAV R&D, manufacturing and application to strengthen its low-altitude economy.
Remarkable results have been made in AI applications. Huawei Noah's Ark Lab unveiled a DiT model that can generate images at 4K resolution. Huawei version of Sora large language model, created based on strong image generation capability, is expected to help film and gaming industries produce high-quality visual contents.
A new round of technological and industrial revolution focused on AI has begun. It is crucial to delve into AI to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces.
According to the 2024 Work Report of the Shenzhen Municipal Government, Shenzhen has unveiled 41 urban AI+ applications and plans to introduce 10 new all-field and all-time AI applications this year. Everything is becoming connected to AI in Shenzhen.
Shenzhen has established a policy system for the high-quality development and high-level AI application, featuring "one regulation, one plan, one list, and one fund cluster", with a view to promoting all-field and all-time AI applications.
The manufacturing foundation is being consolidated, driven by key project investments. The city's fixed asset investment increased by 17.0% YoY in Q1, accelerating by 4.0 percentage points over the period from January to February. Industrial investment exhibited strong momentum, with an increase of 80.1%. Manufacturing investment expanded by 88.6%, playing a significant role in driving economic growth.
Scaling new heights: Enhancing core competitiveness through tech innovation
A research team, including Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, CAS, has developed and launched the world's lightest ultra-compact head-mounted fluorescence microscope, weighing only 0.43g, through which synchronous calcium imaging has been achieved in four hippocampal subfields in freely behaving mice.
Tech innovation is the core driving force of high-quality development. Taking innovation as its priority in urban development, Shenzhen strengthens fundamental research, and prioritizes the innovative platforms for fundamental research in key technological fields and multi-layer major tech infrastructures, with a focus on cutting-edge global science and technologies. These underpin its endeavors to become an innovative city in all aspects.
Many innovation achievements have been yielded. In the first three months of the year, Southern University of Science and Technology has had 8 papers published in the top international journals (Nature,and Science), and one study paper recognized as one of the "China's Top 10 Scientific Advances in 2023". A team led by Xu Haifeng from Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, CAS has developed a magnetic-driven soft robotic system for targeted drug delivery. Rao Lang's team at Shenzhen Bay Laboratory has developed a novel biomimetic cell membrane vesicle for repairing myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. Si Longlong at Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, CAS, has "copied" human cells or tissue organs onto chips to better simulate the toxicity and effectiveness of drugs. A team, including Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, CAS, has launched an R&D testing platform for offshore equipment powered by wave energy.
Universities and research institutes, including Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, CAS, Shenzhen University, and Shenzhen Bay Laboratory, are playing a crucial role in technological innovation in Shenzhen. These organizations have been enhancing their role as a source of innovations and commercializing research achievements, contributing to a shift from application-oriented innovation to fundamental, core, and cutting-edge tech-oriented innovation in the city.
According to the latest ESI data from Clarivate Analytics, as of March 2024, 211 disciplines of 27 universities in Guangdong ranked top 1% worldwide, 39 disciplines of 5 universities in Shenzhen ranked top 1% globally, and 4 disciplines of Shenzhen University and 1 discipline of Southern University of Science and Technology ranked top 1‰ worldwide.
An industry expert said, "These universities and research institutes conduct fundamental research and continuously explore cutting-edge science and technology, laying a solid foundation for the long-term development of Shenzhen. Through close collaboration with the industry, they are translating research results into practical products and tech solutions, driving the city's industrial upgrades and economic growth."
Companies' role in innovation has been enhanced. On March 8, CNOOC announced its first deep-water, deep-reservoir oil find in the Pearl River Estuary of South China Sea. The Kaipingnan oilfield has a proven reserve of 102 million tons of oil equivalent. It represents a breakthrough in tackling the technical bottleneck of deep-water and deep-reservoir high pour point oil drainage.
Shenzhen's innovative strength is at the forefront of the world. At the 2024 Mobile World Congress, Huawei's RAN Digital Twin System clinched the "Best Network Software Breakthrough" award, while its green antenna series products garnered the "Best Mobile Network Infrastructure" award. In addition, Huawei's "0 Bit 0 Watt" energy-saving solution won the "Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough" award, which is the first energy-saving solution to receive this accolade.
Shenzhen-based innovative companies are expanding their global footprint, showcasing their strong manufacturing and innovative capabilities to the world. Twenty-nine Shenzhen-based enterprises made it to the eighth list of national manufacturing single-product champion enterprises was announced recently. This figure hit a new high, ranking No.1 among cities nationwide, taking the total to 95, ranking No.2 among Chinese cities.
Connecting with the world: Hitting a 10-year record in foreign trade volume
Alla from Georgia, after withdrawing cash from ABC Shenzhen Branch, got a "coin purse" in exchange. "It can be customized to suit my needs and is so convenient," she said.
At the "International Payment Season" launch event held on April 1 in Shenzhen, four convenient payment achievements were released. The city plans to build 100 "demonstration business districts for convenient payment" in two batches, where mobile payment, bank cards, cash, and other payment methods are used in parallel and complementarily.
Shenzhen is coordinating efforts to remove bottlenecks and provide high-quality, efficient, and convenient payment services for people living, working and traveling in Shenzhen.
High-level opening-up is being advanced. Statistics show that the container throughput of the Port of Shenzhen reached 4.83 million TEUs in the first two months of 2024, representing a YoY increase of 23.5%. The passenger throughput of Shenzhen Airport stood at 10.46 million, up 39.5% YoY, and its cargo throughput grew by 22.9% YoY to 255,000 tons.
Logistics is the "barometer" of economic activities. These increases for the air and sea ports of Shenzhen demonstrate industrial validity and momentum of long-term economic growth.
Statistics show that Shenzhen's foreign volume amounted to RMB 1.02 trillion in the first quarter, crossing the RMB 1 trillion mark for the first time over the decade, with a YoY increase of 28.8%. Not only does it demonstrate the strong economic momentum and comprehensive competitiveness of the city, but it has also paved the way for achieving the annual goal of "quality improvement and stable quantity".
Wang Zhen, an expert at China Development Institute (CDI), highlighted that the foreign trade volume of Shenzhen reached a record high in Q1 2024, accounting for a significant portion of the total of Guangdong Province. It played an important role in consolidating the provincial and national foreign trade fundamentals, and is expected to maintain an upward trend in the first half of the year, with the potential for sustained growth.
Shenzhen has been expanding its global connections. The city is enhancing its status as an international metropolis and building international exchange platforms with extensive influence. On March 6, the local governments of Shenzhen and Moscow inked an agreement to establish friendly exchange relations. On March 16, Saudi Arabian Airlines opened its first regular international cargo route from Shenzhen, providing logistics support for the "globalization" of manufacturing and characteristic industries in Shenzhen. On March 19, Shenzhen & Milan Lifestyle Week kicked off, marking a new attempt at cultural exchange and industrial cooperation between the two cities. On March 24, a group of American high school students visited Shenzhen to experience China's culture, education, and technological advances.
These international exchange platforms and events have not only attracted outstanding talents and resources from around the world to Shenzhen, but also further fostered friendly exchanges with global cities. It represents an ongoing expansion of the city's international circle of friends.
"Located in the GBA, Shenzhen is home to many innovative firms at the technology forefront." During his visit to Shenzhen, Heng Swee Keat, the Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies of Singapore, expressed his admiration for the numerous cooperative projects and sound foundation of collaboration between Singapore and the city of Shenzhen, believing that they will have greater cooperation opportunities in the future.
Promoting consumption: Boosting high-quality development of the service industry amidst new consumer trends
On March 28, Shenzhen International Industrial Manufacturing Technology and Equipment Exhibition (ITES) kicked off at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center. More than 2,000 companies from around the world joined the grand event, known as a "bellwether" of the global manufacturing industry.
At this edition of ITES, the DAAT series linear robots from Dynamikwell Technology captured great attention. Wan Liang, the company's officer, said, "The rise in orders from downstream customers this year has bolstered upstream players' confidence, and we believe there will be an explosive increase in the second half of the year."
The exhibition industry is prospering. Since the beginning of the year, Shenzhen has been accelerating efforts to build itself into an international exhibition city. In the first three months, the city held about 30 exhibitions, with a total exhibition area of over 2 million m², and a YoY increase of about 50%. The thriving exhibition sector is injecting impetus into Shenzhen's high-quality economic development.
The service industry continues to grow. On March 15, a flagship store of JD.com, with a commercial area of over 10,000 m², opened in Huaqiangbei, Futian, attracting numerous consumers. The store posted over RMB 20 million in sales in the first three days of opening. Statistics show that 427 first stores of well-known Chinese and foreign brands opened in Shenzhen in 2023, up 33% over 2022. This marks the fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth in the number of first stores in the city.
On March 29, the first list of the retail sales growth incentive projects under the 2024 Consumption Promotion and Enhancement Support Plan was published on the website of the Shenzhen Commerce Bureau. A total of 287 incentive projects are included, with a total reward amount of RMB 144,088,875.
The consumption season is bustling with exciting activities. On March 28, the 2024 Shenzhen New Consumer Trend Season, themed "New Fantastic Consumption in Shenzhen", kicked off. The event lasts for 3 months, focusing on 9 new consumer trends including digital products, green products, health products, smart home appliances, automobile products, entertainment and tourism, sports events, domestic products, and international products. Based on commodity consumption statistics including NEVs and consumer electronics, nearly 400 events will take place to foster and expand new forms of consumption and accelerate efforts to make Shenzhen an international consumption hub.
Shenzhen's total retail sales of consumer goods recorded RMB 246.384 billion in Q1, with a YoY increase of 4.3%. By consumption category, retail sales of goods increased by 4.5%, while catering revenue went up by 2.4%.
The new forms of consumption feature new technologies, scenarios, models, attributes, intelligent elements, and service orientations. Not only do they increase the domestic market demand, but they also boost the optimization and upgrading of the overall industrial structure, while creating new employment opportunities.
Zheng Tiancheng, Deputy Director of Enterprise and Market Research Center, CDI, stated that the new consumption season events reflect the city's emphasis on new forms of consumption, empowered by innovation and technology to drive the upgrades of consumption patterns, meet people's consumption needs and promote economic growth.
(Source: Shenzhen Special Zone Daily)