Stories of High-Quality Development | A vehicle hub that prospers through the 'enclave economy'

Narrator: Wu Qubo, secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Shenzhen-Shanwei Special Cooperation Zone, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province

In Shenzhen, every inch of land is precious, and the supply is becoming increasingly scarce. Meanwhile, Shanwei in eastern Guangdong is urgently seeking development and has vast untapped land resources. How can coordinated development be achieved between these two cities, just over 100 kilometers apart?

The answer is to combine Shenzhen’s strengths in industry, economy, technology and market with Shanwei's abundant land and space, delivering mutual benefits through division of labor and cooperation.

Along Tonggang Avenue in the Shenzhen-Shanwei Special Cooperation Zone, a "golden corridor" for the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry has emerged throughout the special cooperation zone, linking up key segments including auto parts production, vehicle manufacturing and export logistics.

In Xiaomo town, we established Phase II of BYD's industrial park in the Shenzhen-Shanwei Special Cooperation Zone. In just two years, this once "remote mountainous village" has transformed into a modern manufacturing base. Anchored by the NEV industry and driven by key projects, the Shenzhen-Shanwei Special Cooperation Zone has attracted nearly 30 upstream and downstream enterprises, including BWI Group and Dongfeng Lear. Leveraging the Xiaomo International Logistics Port, the zone has launched nine international roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) shipping routes to Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and South America, exporting over 50,000 NEVs in 2024 alone.

Aside from new energy vehicles, we have also developed closely related industries such as advanced energy storage systems, high-performance materials, and intelligent manufacturing equipment. The special cooperation zone has become a vital component of Shenzhen's — and even Guangdong's — automotive industrial landscape. From 2018 to 2024, the zone's GDP surged from 3.9 billion yuan to 24.2 billion yuan.

Mutual efforts have brought shared benefits and success. With the deepening development of the Shenzhen-Shanwei Special Cooperation Zone, Shanwei has evolved into a modern coastal area and industrial hub, injecting robust growth momentum into the Shenzhen metropolitan region.