China to have 220 national hi-tech zones by 2025

BEIJING -- China has established 173 national hi-tech zones so far and will raise the number to 220 by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), according to the Ministry of Science and Technology on Wednesday.

Li Youping, an official with the ministry, said at a press conference that the total output value of the national hi-tech zones grew from 5.4 trillion yuan ($781.3 billion) in 2012 to 15.3 trillion yuan in 2021.

In 2021, the national high-tech zones generated 13.4 percent of GDP with 2.5 percent of the country's land for construction, he added.

Over the past decade, the national hi-tech zones have made major breakthroughs in fields such as quantum information, high-speed railways, the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, domestically produced large aircraft and 5G communications, according to the press conference.

They have also participated in a series of major national scientific and technological missions, including the development of the deep-sea manned submersible Jiaolong, the launch of the Shenzhou-14 spaceship and the research and development of COVID-19 vaccines.

By the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China will have about 220 national hi-tech zones, covering most of its prefecture-level cities in the eastern part of the country and major prefecture-level cities in the central and western parts.