National development zones, an important platform to maintain stability of foreign trade and investment

China's state-level economic and technological development zones have played an important role in the high-quality development and stability of foreign trade and investment, the Ministry of Commerce said.

Foreign trade of the 230 development zones assessed by the ministry amounted to 10.3 trillion yuan (about 1.45 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2022, accounting for 25 percent of the country's total foreign trade, they show. official data.

In particular, trade in high-tech products in development zones reached three trillion yuan in 2022, 27 percent of the country's total trade volume in this field.

Foreign direct investment in these development zones, in terms of real use, was around 43.2 billion dollars, which represents 23 percent of the country's total, according to the figures.

The evaluation indicates that development zones have greater capacities for scientific and technological innovation, with a total of 12,000 research and development institutions at the provincial level or higher by the end of 2022.

Official data indicates that the combined gross domestic product of these areas reached 14 trillion yuan in 2022, contributing 12 percent to China's total economic volume.