The Ministry of Commerce has recognized the Zhuhai National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone (Tangjiawan) as a National Foreign Trade Transformation & Upgrading Base while approving assessments of bases in Xiangzhou and Jinwan districts.

The National Hi-Tech Zone specializes in integrated circuits. It is home to such renowned enterprises as Allwinner Technology, Jieli Technology, Apex Microelectronics, Vimicro, Actions Technology, Access Semiconductor, and Innoscience (Zhuhai) Technology. With 6,000 employees, it ranks 9th in the country in terms of IC design sector industrial scale.

The zone contains one National Enterprise Technology Center, two National Specialized, Elaborative, Characteristic & Emerging "Little Giant" (Medium and Small-Sized) Enterprises, two key IC enterprises under national layout, 19 Provincial Enterprise Technology and Engineering Centers, and 18 municipal unicorn enterprises.

National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone (Tangjiawan) [Photo by Wu Changfu / Zhuhai Media Group]

According to Zhuhai Software Industry Association statistics, the city was home to more than 120 IC enterprises in 2020. Of those, three were listed, four had operating revenue of more than 1 billion yuan ($154.2 million), 15 were backbone enterprises with revenue of over 100 million yuan ($15.42 million), and 29 were above designated size.

A complete IC industrial chain has taken form in Zhuhai primarily focusing on chip design, but including materials and equipment, manufacturing, packaging and testing. Operating revenue of the local IC industry was 9.31 billion yuan ($1.44 billion) last year and the export value was $213 million.

Recognized in 2018 as National Foreign Trade Transformation & Upgrading Bases was Xiangzhou District for household appliances and Jinwan District for biomedicine, with both recently passing assessments by the Ministry of Commerce.

Zhuhai attaches great importance to Foreign Trade Transformation & Upgrading Bases and has adopted a series of policies and measures since 2012. Comprehensive financial support is given for market expansion, collective brand cultivation, quality improvement, international marketing and service networks, public exhibitions, and fair trades, according to Feng Lizhen, head of the Trade Promotion Section of the city Bureau of Commerce.

The city has cultivated multiple Provincial and National Foreign Trade Transformation & Upgrading Bases relying on industrial clusters of household appliances, biomedicine, IC, printing consumables, yachts, and agricultural products. These have played a positive role in the high-quality and sustainable development of local foreign trade.