40 years of development: Zhuhai Special Economic Zone

Since the establishment of Zhuhai Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in 1980, Zhuhai has developed from a border town dominated by agriculture and fisheries to a central city in the Pearl River Delta driven by comprehensive economic and social development and an important city for the development in Greater Bay Area, with all-round development of science, education, culture and health, and outstanding achievements in education and continuous progress in health.

Zhuhai’s scientific and technological development has grown from scratch, while innovation capacity has been significantly enhanced. Zhuhai has basically established and improved the medical assistance system, implemented the universal medical insurance system, and realized the transition from the new rural cooperative medical care to basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents.

Glorious 40 years of the SEZ

Zhuhai’s GDP increased from RMB 209 million in 1979 to RMB 291.5 billion in 2018, ranking first in Guangdong Province, witnessing a remarkable improvement since the establishment of the SEZ. In 2018, Zhuhai’s per capita GDP is only second to Shenzhen among the nine cities in the Pearl River Delta of Greater Bay Area, which means that Zhuhai’s economic development has entered a higher level.

At the same time, Zhuhai Special Economic Zone has always adhered to the development concept of “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”, and has achieved fruitful results of building a “livable city”. It has laid a foundation for high-quality development, consolidating and enhancing its ecological advantages.

Bright future with the Greater Bay area

Zhuhai enjoys a unique geographical position, facing Hong Kong across the sea in the east, while connecting Macao in the south. Since the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge came into use in October 2018, Zhuhai has become the only city in the mainland both connected with Hong Kong and Macao by land, making its strategic position even more highlighted. Besides, Zhuhai enjoys convenient transportation. Intercity railways, expressways and water shipping channels seamlessly connect Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou and Shenzhen as well as other urban areas and airports, providing fast and comfortable transportation for international and domestic tourists to arrive in the city, meanwhile greatly shortening the commuting time with other cities, thus forming a diversified transportation system of “urban rail + intercity rail + expressway”.

Under the framework of Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), Guangdong Province will further expand its reform and opening up, which will demand Zhuhai to give full play to the advantages Hong Kong and Macao have as free ports, vigorously promoting the innovation of customs clearance system, science and technology, management system and development model, facilitating employment, residence and free exchanges of Hong Kong and Macao residents in Zhuhai, and vigorously enhancing the level of internationalization.