Shenzhen Mayor Qin Weizhong presented a review of the work completed in 2023 in his government report at the opening of the annual session of the city’s lawmaking body yesterday.
Economic development
The economy maintained a steady pace of recovery and made solid progress in high-quality development. Market entities have maintained their vitality and momentum.
The number of commercial entities amounted to 4.226 million, up 26.4%. Industrial investment surged 43% while its share of fixed-asset investment rose to 23.6%.
Investment in infrastructure exceeded 206.9 billion yuan (US$29.09 billion), with roughly 122.3 billion yuan invested in new infrastructure facilities.
Additionally, turnover in the accommodation and catering industries increased by 14.3% and 14.9%, respectively.
Shenzhen added a total of 1,008 inaugural stores, flagship stores, and new-concept stores.
The general trade imports and exports grew by 14.4%.
Shenzhen sped up the building of a leading global advanced manufacturing center. The sales of new energy vehicles (NEVs) rose by 45.9%. The output value of NEVs increased by 85.3%, while the added value of the financial and logistics sectors grew by 5.8% and 6%, respectively.
Shenzhen has unveiled regulations for promoting the low-altitude economy, the country’s first dedicated legal framework aimed at propelling the low-altitude economic sector to new heights.
Reform and opening up
Shenzhen has won the title of City with Best Reputation for Business Environment in China for the fourth consecutive year.
Shenzhen opened 55 international passenger and cargo flights, and the city’s container throughput reached 29.88 million TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) in 2023.
The city received visits from nine heads of state and prime ministers last year.
Shenzhen unveiled 28 measures to provide convenient services for residents in Hong Kong and Macao to shop, travel, and do business in the city. So far, Hong Kong and Macao professionals in 22 sectors can work in Qianhai after registration. The city has also accelerated the construction of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone.
People’s well-being, urban civilization
The city launched 13 hospital renovation and expansion projects and initiated 126 affordable housing projects.
The city further improved care and services for front-line workers such as deliverymen and car-hailing app drivers.
Shenzhen added 210,000 square meters of public cultural facilities and about 1.5 million square meters of sports venues, and held various cultural and sports activities.
Xichong, located in the Dapeng New Area of eastern Shenzhen, was officially recognized as the first International Dark Sky Community in China.
The city received 170 million visits last year, up 66.9%, and achieved tourism revenue of 238.1 billion yuan, up 105%.
Ecological protection
Days with good air quality accounted for 97.8% of the whole year in 2023, up by 5.7 percentage points, ranking first among megacities in the country.
In 2023, Shenzhen built or renovated 365 kilometers of greenway and completed 420 kilometers of hiking trails.
A project linking five urban parks in the city center — Lianhua Hill, Bijia Hill, Central, Meilin Mountain, and Yinhu Mountain parks — was completed.
GDP expected to grow 5.5% in 2024