The Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone, currently under large-scale construction, represents a pilot initiative in China's exploration of new pathways toward common prosperity. The area today bears a strong resemblance to the vibrant Shenzhen of the early 1990s, featuring new highways, factory buildings, and high-rises emerging among rural hills. Since 2018, the zone has achieved an average annual economic growth rate of 24%.
Shenzhen, a special economic zone in China, reported a regional Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 3.87 trillion yuan in 2025, with a per capita GDP of approximately 215,300 yuan. Guangdong Province, where Shenzhen is located, has maintained its position as the top-ranking province by GDP in China, the world's second-largest economy, for 37 consecutive years. Nanshan District in Shenzhen recorded a GDP exceeding 1.01 trillion yuan in 2025, with a per capita GDP of over 540,000 yuan, making it the first district-level administrative unit in China to join the "trillion-yuan club." Despite this, regional development imbalances have remained a persistent challenge for Guangdong's progress.
Shanwei, located just 60 kilometers from Shenzhen's Pingshan District and part of the Hailufeng old revolutionary base area, had a per capita GDP of only about 57,200 yuan in 2025. Factors such as mountainous terrain, frequent typhoons, and traditionally conservative mindsets have contributed to long-term poverty in the region.
To address this situation, Guangdong Province established the Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone in 2011 across four towns in Haifeng County, Shanwei. Initially under joint management by Shenzhen and Shanwei, a significant administrative adjustment occurred at the end of 2018 when the zone's party working committee and management committee were formally established, placing development and construction fully under Shenzhen's leadership. At that time, per capita income in Haifeng was very low, and income in these four towns was only half of that, representing an economic depression even within the Hailufeng revolutionary base area.
In November 2023, the "Regulations on the Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone of Guangdong Province" came into effect. This legislation marked a significant policy innovation, being the first in China to legally define an enclave economy comprehensively led by the "sending region." The creation of the Shenshan zone is an innovative exploration by Guangdong to tackle regional development disparities, using the special economic zone to support the old revolutionary base area by introducing industry, infrastructure, and modern governance concepts, thereby pioneering a feasible and replicable model.
The zone's development accelerated significantly during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, fueled by major investments in transportation infrastructure and urban facilities. Leading modern enterprises, notably the world's electric vehicle giant Byd Company Limited, established operations there. A senior executive from Byd Company Limited explained that the company utilized land provided by Shenshan, with construction quotas supplied by the provincial government, to build factories for mid-to-high-end vehicle production. The proximity to a seaport just 3 kilometers from the plant allows cars to be shipped directly to core global markets.
Byd Company Limited has invested over 31.5 billion yuan in the Shenshan zone, establishing a complete industrial system encompassing core components like batteries, motors, and electronic controls, all the way to complete vehicle manufacturing. In 2025, Byd Company Limited's vehicle output in Shenshan reached 290,000 units, generating an output value surpassing 74 billion yuan. This has spurred a national industrial cluster, attracting nearly 30 upstream and downstream supporting companies. Yanfeng International, a key interior supplier for Byd Company Limited, relocated its factory from Dongguan to a site just across the street from Byd Company Limited's vehicle base, enabling parts delivery within five minutes of production.
The zone's leadership describes the area as being developed into the core area for Shenzhen's new-generation, world-class automotive city, reflecting efficient resource allocation under the market economy, significantly aided by government planning and services. The benefits extend beyond corporate growth. The booming industries and influx of talent have allowed local residents to share in the prosperity. Previously, many villagers sought work elsewhere, leading to "hollowed-out" villages with a resident population of only 50,000-60,000. Now, former residents are returning, and combined with new arrivals, the population has reached 150,000.
Many villagers have chosen local employment at companies like Byd Company Limited, while others have seized entrepreneurial opportunities. Examples include a couple who opened a restaurant serving enterprise employees, generating daily revenue of three to four thousand yuan, and a local who expanded a construction team from one to three units to serve the zone's factory and infrastructure projects. Village collective incomes, once nearly zero, have now produced over a dozen villages with annual revenues exceeding one million yuan, and even one reaching ten million yuan. A 53-year-old resident upgraded his seafood stall to a restaurant last year, attracting a steady stream of customers who are optimistic about future business growth, anticipating a positive impact on local seafood sales and homestays.
Shanwei's development has also accelerated. Its GDP reached 154.63 billion yuan in 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 5.8% during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the second highest in the province. Shanwei is now deeply integrated into the "one-hour living circle" of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and its residents' per capita disposable income growth has led the province for three consecutive years. Leveraging the辐射 effect of the Shenshan zone, Shanwei is actively building an extended cooperation area.
A significant change noted by local officials is the shift in people's mindsets and their new understanding of modern lifestyles. To support the zone's development, Guangdong Province and Shenzhen have implemented pioneering reforms, including establishing courts, a procuratorate, and a public security bureau, alongside adopting flexible tax measures.
Efforts also focus on balanced educational development. A top-tier Shenzhen high school established a campus in the zone, enrolling 9,900 students. Educators express hope that this will lead to students gaining admission to top universities like Tsinghua and Peking University, a first for the area. The zone has also established a campus of Shenzhen Vocational and Technical University with a planned enrollment of 15,000, is planning a 800-bed hospital affiliated with Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, and has plans for approximately 60, units of subsidized housing—all aimed at meeting "the people's aspirations for a better life."
The Guangdong experiment is just one approach to exploring common prosperity. Regions across China are advancing this work based on local conditions. Jiangsu Province promotes cooperation between its northern and southern parts to foster complementary advantages and cultivate new growth poles. Zhejiang Province implements a "Mountain-Sea Cooperation" program, creating provincial-level models for developed areas to assist less-developed ones, embodying the principle of "the advanced helping those catching up."
Comments