Shenzhen in Guangdong province posted a GDP growth of 5.5 percent in 2025. Delivering the city's annual government work report on Monday, Mayor Qin Weizhong said the city's GDP increased from 2.83 trillion yuan ($408.8 billion) in 2020 to 3.87 trillion yuan in 2025, recording an annual average growth rate of 5.5 percent, the highest among China's first-tier cities, which also include Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in Guangdong province.

Experts said the growth rate reflects Shenzhen's economic resilience that is driven by robust scientific and technological capabilities and a vibrant innovation ecosystem.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the seventh session of the seventh Shenzhen Municipal People's Congress, Qin announced that the added value of the city's strategic emerging industries reached 1.67 trillion yuan last year, accounting for 43 percent of the city's GDP.

Networks and communications, software and information services, and intelligent connected vehicles industries each surpassed 800 billion yuan in scale. The output of 39 industrial products, including integrated circuits, industrial robots and smartphones, accounted for more than 10 percent of the national total.

"Shenzhen has systematically planned for and fostered the development of its strategic emerging industrial clusters and future industries, with advanced manufacturing as the mainstay," Qin said. "Economic resilience has become increasingly prominent, and the city's overall capacity and core competitiveness have significantly increased."

Home to an array of technology companies including telecommunications giant Huawei, tech leader Tencent and world-renowned consumer drone maker DJI, Shenzhen is known as China's "Silicon Valley" and a pioneer in sci-tech innovation in an area of about 2,000 square kilometers, roughly one-third the size of Shanghai and 12 percent that of Beijing.

Shenzhen is home to more than 2,600 artificial intelligence enterprises above a designated size and over 1,000 core robotics companies. The work report mentioned that Shenzhen will accelerate efforts to construct a global AI pioneer city. In 2026, the added value of the city's AI industrial cluster is targeted to grow by over 10 percent.

Qin said the city will strengthen efforts to develop a fully self-reliant and controllable AI software and hardware ecosystem, and focus on making breakthroughs in core technologies including algorithm theory, model architecture, intelligent computing chips, basic software and intelligent robots.

Wu Nan, an assistant professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics' School of Economics, said: "By optimizing its land use and prioritizing the development of high value-added industries such as AI, Shenzhen has continuously attracted high-end talent and effectively overcome its resource constraints. Meanwhile, the local government has maintained a stable business environment over the long term, fostering an innovation ecosystem among market entities and providing sustained impetus for economic growth."

The city's GDP is projected to exceed 5 trillion yuan within the next five years during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, with new breakthroughs in industrial technological innovation. This will make it the third city in China following Beijing and Shanghai to achieve the milestone.

Investment in research and development in the city jumped from 151.08 billion yuan in 2020 to 245.31 billion yuan in 2024, achieving an impressive average annual growth rate of 12.9 percent. Enterprise R&D consistently made up over 93 percent of the total, solidifying Shenzhen's lead in the country.

With an R&D investment intensity of 6.67 percent, Shenzhen now ranks first among cities nationwide. According to the report, this figure is projected to rise to over 7 percent by the end of 2030.

"Shenzhen's innovation ecosystem thrives on its 'daring to venture and experiment' spirit," said Ma Jian, co-founder and CEO of XtalPi, a Hong Kong-listed AI drug discovery company based in Shenzhen. Ma is also a deputy to Shenzhen's municipal people's congress.

He said the city's key strengths lie in policy support, computational power and talent attraction.

Gui Qinghua, founder of Shenzhen Yifei Hongtian Drone Tech Co, said: "Shenzhen's business environment treats private companies as key partners and prioritizes emerging industries. Government support is consistent and practical, addressing industry needs from startup to growth. This enables us to innovate, establish roots and develop confidently."

The company produces industrial-grade drones used in sectors including emergency management, public safety and urban governance.

Contact the writers at chenhong@chinadaily.com.cn