Nanshan in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, became the first district in a city not directly under the central government to achieve a GDP exceeding one trillion yuan ($143.7 billion) in 2025, according to the district's chief Li Xiaoning on Jan 27.

The district's GDP rose from 652.7 billion yuan in 2020 at an annual average growth rate of more than 5.8 percent, Li said when delivering the district's government work report at the opening ceremony of the sixth session of the 8th people's congress of Nanshan.

Nanshan's GDP even surpasses that of some European countries, which is partially attributable to its status as a sci-tech innovation and industrial manufacturing center in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Statistical data shows that the added value of local strategic emerging industries accounts for 60 percent of the GDP.

Xiang Tianye, director of Nanshan's industry and information technology bureau, said that it now has more than 20 companies able to produce a complete robot, over 200 upstream and downstream enterprises, and more than 1,000 above-scale AI enterprises.

Nanshan has more than 200 listed companies, a number comparable to that of some provincial-level administrative regions. It is home to tech giant Tencent, drone manufacturer DJI, biotech firm BGI, and logistics company SF Holding.

China now has three districts with a GDP surpassing one trillion yuan. Pudong New Area of Shanghai achieved that goal in 2018, and Beijing's Haidian district of Beijing reached the milestone in 2022. Beijing and Shanghai are both municipalities directly administered by the central government.