Background

In 1984, based on the successful experience of the special economic zones, China decided to build economic and technological development zones in its 14 open coastal cities. After 20 years of development, there are 49 state-level economic and technological development zones around China. Like shining pearls they have become new points of China's economic growth, constituting a new force in China's foreign trade. As bases of the new-type industrialization, they attract foreign investments and enable the development of new and hi-tech industries. They are also experimental zones for structural innovation and exemplary zones for cultural progress.