Xiamen rides the wave of reform and opening-up

As one of the country's first four special economic zones, the port city of Xiamen, in East China's Fujian province, has been on the fast lane of extensive economic development since the country's reform and opening-up in 1978.

Official data shows that Xiamen's GDP and fiscal revenue has increased 280 times and 817 times, respectively, since 1978.

Xiamen's GDP had grown by 15.9 percent year-on-year from 1981 to hit 435.1 billion yuan ($69.2 billion) in 2017, according to local authorities.

The efforts in promoting innovation by local government have long been a significant driving force for the city's high-quality economic development over the period.

One such example is the flourishing graphene industry, with over 100 enterprises related to the industry clustering in its Torch High-Tech Industrial Development Zone.

In 2016, The State Council gave the go ahead for Xiamen to build the independent national innovation demonstration zone, with the Torch High-tech Industrial Development Zone as the core area.

In a bid to push further development of the graphene industry in the zone, the local government set up a public technology service platform for the businesses involved, offering services ranging from technological detection, consulting and application, according to Peng Junfeng, director of the department of economic development at the zone.

The graphene industry, featuring prolonged research and development cycles, entails a large amount of investment, said Wu Tinglun, general manager of Langnake Material Technology Co, adding that either early-stage product verification or market expansion is supported by big data analysis.

"It was apparently impossible for the small-and medium-sized companies to afford all the needed facilities. However, the public service platform that opened is for all companies, and resolved the problem, cutting their costs significantly," he added.

Ni Jie, director of the department of innovation and entrepreneurship at the zone, noted that they have created an ecosystem that makes for the graphene industry growth in the area, with strong support in terms of policies, capital and services.

"If comparing the businesses and talents in the sector to 'seeds', then the sunshine, soil and water they need to grow are all well prepared here," Ni said.

According to Peng, the development of the graphene industry, considering its broad prospects, is part of the Xiamen's broader push to propel industrial transformation and upgrading, which has proved to be a success.

Its economic growth powerhouse has been shifted from traditional manufacturing to the high-tech manufacturing and knowledge-intensive service sectors.

The output value of the high-tech industry reached 424.1 billion yuan in 2017 in Xiamen, accounting for 71 percent of the city's industrial output.