By Hua Ruoyun, China Center for International Knowledge on Development (CIKD) & Ma Yinong, Peking University

Research Report, No.81, 2019 (Total 5581) 2019-5-29

Abstract: Viewing from the modernization of the pursuant economies, late developers relying on low factor cost and high market demand can achieve a leapfrogging development. As an important carrier to improve production efficiency by attracting factors in certain regions, the economic development zones have strongly boosted the regional economic growth in the past three decades. However, as the potential growth rate gradually reduced to the level of advanced countries, advantages of late developers began to exert a limited effect on maintaining a high growth. Therefore, many economic development zones have encountered bottlenecks for further progress. Based on the experience of Chengdu’s hi-tech zones in pursuing a high-quality development, this paper puts forward three policy options for the transformation of China’s economic development zones. First, we need to renovate the idea on development, coordinate the people-centered development approach, and promote the integration of production with people’s life and living environment. Second, we need to continue to facilitate development through deepening reforms and create a favorable business environment by way of the reforms designed to delegate powers, improve regulation and provide better services. Third, we need to adapt to the trend of the international industrial labor division and the new technological revolution, advance opening-up, and provide a sound institutional environment to enable enterprises to get properly involved with global value chain.

Key words: hi-tech zones, transformation, high-quality development