SFC Markets and Finance | Shantou and Zhanjiang Port Economic Zones Are On The Way

南方财经全媒体记者杨雨莱 广州报道

On February 21, the press conference on the overall plan for the construction of the Shantou and Zhanjiang Port Economic Zones brought the latest news of the two zones.

According to the plans, the total planned areas for the Shantou and Zhanjiang Port Economic Zones will exceed 104 square kilometers and 148 square kilometers, respectively.

The "main thread" of the construction of the two port economic zones is to create world-class port industry clusters and port economic zones. The goal is to gather a number of key links and key enterprises in the industrial chain by 2030, making the zones important destinations for domestic and international industrial transfers and new models for international industrial capacity cooperation.

Why build port economic zones in Shantou and Zhanjiang?

Shantou and Zhanjiang are the sub-provincial centers of Guangdong. They’re at the crossroads of several major regional development strategies, with great transportation and a strong export-oriented economy. Zhanjiang for example has the closest port to the ASEAN market and faces the Hainan Free Trade Port across the sea. Shantou, on the other hand, has a rich pool of overseas Chinese resources, and close trade ties with ASEAN countries,

Building port economic zones not only will guide the orderly transfer and clustering of industries from the Pearl River Delta and other regions, but also will create new momentum for foreign trade and help us deal with the reshaping of global industrial and supply chains.

In building these port economic zones, Shantou and Zhanjiang each have their own focus, Shantou's zone is all about port manufacturing and services, with a big emphasis on its overseas Chinese connections, making it a hub to gather, link, and benefit from the overseas Chinese community.

While Zhanjiang's zone is more into electronics, new materials, and agro-processing. It will support the Hainan Free Trade Port and deepen the ties with ASEAN. The projects that have already set up show the differences. Shantou got big projects in offshore wind power equipment, medical devices, and food processing, while Zhanjiang has major players like China National Offshore Oil Corporation and China Datang.

In 2024, Guangdong's foreign trade reached a new milestone with its total import and export volume exceeding 9 trillion yuan for the first time. It also contributed 38.7% to the national growth. But right now we are facing the ups and downs in international trade, and the tariffs barriers that U.S. president Trump put forward. These two port economic zones in Shantou and Zhanjiang might just be the key path for Guangdong to keep its foreign trade stable in the future.

Chief Producer: Yu Xiaona

Supervising Producer: Shi Shi

Editor: Li Yinong

Reporter: Yang Yulai

Video Editor: Li Qun

New Media Coordination: Ding Qingyun, Zeng Tingfang, Lai Xi, Huang Daxun

Overseas Operations Supervising Producer: Huang Yanshu

Overseas Content Coordinator: Huang Zihao

Overseas Operations Editors: Zhuang Huan, Wu Wanjie, Long Lihua, Zhang Weitao

Produced by: Southern Finance Omnimedia Group