Xiamen, Fujian Province, China

🇨🇳 Xiamen (厦门), alternately known as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in south-eastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, Haicang, and Xiang'an. The urbanised area of the city has spread from its original island to include most parts of all six of its districts, and with 4 Zhangzhou districts, form a larger built-up area. This area is also about to connect with Quanzhou in the north, making up a future metropolis of nearly ten million people. The Kinmen Islands administered by the Republic of China lie less than 6 km away separated by Xiamen Bay.

Xiamen Island possessed a natural harbor in Yundang Bay, but Fujian's international trade was long restricted to Quanzhou or to Guangzhou in Guangdong. Under the Qing, both before and after the First Opium War, there was a large-scale emigration of Chinese from southern Fujian who spread Hokkien-speaking communities to Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The overseas Chinese continue to support Xiamen's educational and cultural institutions. As part of the Opening Up Policy under Deng Xiaoping, Xiamen became one of China's original four special economic zones opened to foreign investment and trade in the early 1980s. Its former harbour was enclosed using land excavated during the city's expansion, however, the city remains an island connected by bridges to the rest of mainland China.

The city is well known for its mild climate, Minnan culture and Gulangyu Island, as well as its relatively low pollution. In 2006, Xiamen was ranked as China's second "most suitable city for living", as well as China's "most romantic leisure city" in 2011.

Xiamen is one of the top 100 cities in the world by scientific research as tracked by the Nature Index. The city is home to several major universities, including Huaqiao University, Jimei University, Xiamen University of Technology and notably Xiamen University, one of China's most prestigious universities as a member of the Project 985.

Economy Xiamen has a diverse and well-developed economy. It is the first to refer to the business environment indexes of the World Bank with the aim of creating world's first-rated business environment. In 2018, its business environment ranked 2nd among 22 cities across the country that was evaluated by the National Development and Reform Commission. Its measures in areas such as dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, and trading across borders take the lead in the country.

Its social credit system has been improved. In 2018, its overall credit index ranked 2nd among 36 provincial capitals and sub-provincial cities and above.

The Siming and Huli districts form its Special Economic Zone.

Xiamen focuses on the development of five major industries – electronic information, equipment manufacturing, tourism and culture, modern logistics, and financial services.

The city strives to build more than 10 industrial chains, each with an output value of 100 billion yuan ($14.71 billion), including panel displays, computer and communication equipment, semiconductors and integrated circuits, software and information services, machinery and equipment, new materials, tourism and exhibitions, cultural creativity, modern logistics, financial services, biological medicine and urban modern agriculture.

Xiamen's GDP has grown at an average annual rate of 15.4 percent since China's reform and opening-up four decades ago. In 2018, per capita GDP: 118,015 yuan ($17,105); per capita disposable income: 50,948 yuan; public financial budget revenue: 128.3 billion yuan; 1,626 hi-tech enterprises, accounting for 44 percent of the total number of Fujian province; 600.5 billion yuan of total foreign trade value; degree of dependence on foreign trade has reached 125 percent.

By the end of 2018, Xiamen brought in a total of 14,818 foreign-invested projects; contractual foreign investments: $66 billion, actual foreign investments: $37.9 billion; 62 overseas Fortune 500 companies invested in 112 projects in Xiamen.

The city has economic and trade relations with 162 countries and regions worldwide, and benefits from foreign investment, particularly capital from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, US, Japan, Switzerland, Malaysia, Philippines, Germany and UK.

Xiamen is also the host of the China International Fair for Investment and Trade held annually in early September to attract foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland.

Xiamen also hold Straits Forum annually. The 2019 edition kicked off in the coastal city from 15 to 21 June. More than 10,000 people attended the annual forum this year.

Financial services Xiamen has highly developed banking services. The biggest bank is the state-owned commercial bank, Sino-foreign joint venture Xiamen International Bank, solely foreign-funded Xiamen Bank, and Xiamen Rural Commercial Bank.

Various foreign banks that have established representative offices in Xiamen.

There are more than 600 financial institutions in operation in Xiamen.

Development zones include:

Haicang Investment Zone (厦门海沧台商投资区) is situated to the south-east of Xiamen Island, at the tip of the Xiamen-Zhangzhou-Quanzhou Delta in South Fujian bordering Zhangzhou City to the west, Jimei District to the north, and overlooking Xiamen Island across the narrow water. The 100-square-kilometer Haicang Investment Zone is the largest national investment zone for Taiwan business people authorized by the State Council in 1989. It is situated close to Xiamen Port. The zone aims at becoming a new port area, a new industrial area and a sub-center of greater Xiamen in the 21st century. It is divided into the following four functional areas in line with its overall plan: Haicang Port Area, Xinyang Industrial Area, Southern Industrial Area and Haicang New Urban Area.

Xiamen Area of China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone (福建自贸试验区厦门片区管委会) is located in the north-west part of Xiamen, within the area of Dongdu port. Near No 319 national road and Yingxia railway, it is connected with Gaoqi International Airport. On 15 October 1992, the State Council approved establishment of the zone with an area of 5 square kilometers; the first phase covers 0.63 square km and was put into operation on 28 November 1993. It is the most modern international logistics zone in the south-east part of China.

Xiamen Torch Development Zone for High Technology Industries (厦门火炬高新区管委会) was jointly established by the former State Scientific and Technological Commission and the Xiamen municipal government in 1990 and has gradually developed into "one zone with multi parks". A favorable investment environment and high returns has made the zone into a hot spot for foreign investment. Bourns Inc. of the United States concluded the zone the most ideal target for foreign investors in China. Some of the world's top 500 companies such as Dell, ABB Switch, ABB Low-Voltage, ABB High-Voltage, Panasonic, FDK, Xiamen Tungaloy, and Fujitsu are rapidly expanding their operations in Xiamen. The zone is oriented towards information technology, biotechnology, new energy, new materials, oceanology, advanced manufacturing, and environment technology. Most of its exports go to countries and areas such as the US, Japan, Southeast Asia, West Europe, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Hi-tech exports include computers, colour monitors, microscopes, power supply units, integrated circuits, stepping motors, wireless telephones, switching equipment, tungsten carbide micro-drills, and similar products.

Key industries include:

Panel display industry Xiamen is one of China's regions with rapid development of the TFT liquid crystal display (LCD) industry. Its industrial scale ranks sixth in the country and is the only pilot city with a national optoelectronic display industrial cluster. The city also has the largest R&D and production base of touch screen modules in the world. Xiamen's panel display industry reached an output value of 131.5 billion yuan in 2018, forming a complete industrial chain layout. Industrial parks include Xiamen Tongan Xiang'an Hi-tech Industrial Base and Xiamen Torch Hi-Tech Industrial Zone (Xiang'an).

Computer and communication equipment industry Xiamen has gathered integrated manufacturing enterprises in such fields as complete computers, mobile phones, mobile phone lenses, micro motors, flexible circuit boards, bluetooth and wireless access equipment, and positioning and navigation sensors, as well as supporting enterprises of basic components, accessories, external equipment and IT services. The complete machine brand has global influence. The industry reached an output value of 120.4 billion yuan ($17.68 billion) in 2018. Industrial parks include Xiamen Tongan Xiang'an Hi-tech Industrial Base and Xiamen Torch Hi-Tech Industrial Zone (Xiang'an).

Semiconductor and integrated circuits industry Xiamen is home to more than 200 integrated circuit (IC) enterprises which form an industrial chain covering IC design, manufacturing, testing, equipment and materials as well as applications. Xiamen's IC industry reached an output value of 41.7 billion yuan ($6.11 billion) in 2018. Industrial parks include Xiamen Tongan Xiang'an Hi-tech Industrial Base, Xiamen Science and Technology Innovation Park, Xiamen Haicang Information Industrial Park, and Xiamen IC Strait Free Trade Zone Industrial Base.

Software and information services industry The software and information services industry in Xiamen covers various fields including the platform economy, industrial application software, animation and games and cloud computing and information security. The city has won the title of "China's Characteristic City in Software". The industrial output value of Xiamen's software and information services industry in 2018 reached 149.3 billion yuan ($21.78 billion), with Xiamen Software Park accounting for 67 percent of that figure.

Machinery and equipment industry Xiamen's machinery and equipment industry covers five industrial sectors – large and medium-sized passenger cars, power transmission and distribution equipment, aviation maintenance, engineering machinery and shipbuilding, with an output value of 103.7 billion yuan ($15.13 billion) in 2018. Industrial parks include Xiamen Machinery industry concentration area, Xiamen Torch Power Transmission and Distribution Industry Base, Xiamen Haicang Ship Industrial Zone, Xiamen Aviation Industrial Zone, and Xiamen Airport Industrial Zone.

New materials industry Xiamen's new materials industry is dominated by special metal materials and advanced polymer materials, including photoelectric information materials, new energy, energy saving and environmental protection materials, and advanced carbon nanomaterials. The industry reached an output value of 88.9 billion yuan ($12.95 billion) in 2018. Industrial parks include Xiamen Tongan Xiang'an Hi-tech Industrial Base and Xiamen Torch Hi-Tech Industrial Zone (Xiang'an).

Tourism industry Xiamen has been honored as the Top Tourist City in China, a Demonstration City of Tourism and Leisure in China and one of China's most romantic leisure cities. The holiday tourism popularity and tourist satisfaction in Xiamen has long been at the forefront in China, and its inbound tourism and foreign exchange earnings have been ranked in China's top 10. The number of people going to Taiwan via Xiamen Port ranks first in China.

Exhibition industry In 2018, Xiamen held a total of 229 exhibitions, with a total exhibition area of 2.38 million square meters, up 8.6 percent year-on-year. The hotels and conference centres in the city hosted 9,262 commercial meetings with more than 50 people attending, up 12.1 percent year-on-year. The total number of participants from home and abroad to Xiamen reached 1.88 million, with a year-on-year increase of 12.1 percent. The total revenue of the exhibition industry in Xiamen reached 40.3 billion yuan ($5.86 billion). Industrial parks include Xiamen International Conference & Exhibition Center, Xiamen International Conference Center, Xiamen Fliport Conference & Exhibition Center, and Xiamen east sports exhibition area (under construction).

Culture and creativity industry Xiamen has seen rapid development in creative design, the film industry and high-end artworks in recent years. The city was listed among the first National Culture Export Bases and is home to the world's third Red Dot Design Museum. Also, the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, one of the top events in China's film industry, is to be presented in Xiamen once every two years for the 10 years following 2019. The total revenue of Xiamen's culture and creativity industry reached 104 billion yuan ($15.13 billion) in 2018. Industrial parks include National demonstration base for the integration of culture and science and technology, National Fujian and Taiwan cultural industry experimental park, Longshan cultural and creative industrial park, Huli creative industrial park, Jimeiji film and television industrial park, Tongan cultural industrial park, and Cross-Straits architectural design cultural and creative park.

Modern logistics industry Xiamen has been approved as a national modern logistics innovation and development city, a national cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone, a smart logistics city and a logistics standardisation pilot zone, and a demonstration city for the standardization of cold chain circulation of agricultural products. In 2018, the modern logistics industry in Xiamen achieved an output value of 118 billion yuan ($17.17 billion). And Xiamen port ranked 7th in China and 14th in the world in terms of container throughput. Xiamen has formed a freight hub integrating the south-east coastal area highways and railroads. There are five logistics industry agglomeration areas in Xiamen: Haicang and Dongdu port-surrounding areas, Qianchang, Tongan and Xiang'an.

Financial services industry In 2018, Xiamen's total revenue of financial services reached 152.9 billion yuan ($22.24 billion), and added value accumulated to 52.4 billion yuan. Industrial parks include Xiamen cross-Straits financial centre and Xiamen Area of China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Bio-medicine and health industry Xiamen is a pilot city for the regional agglomeration of emerging industries in bio-medicine, with a total output value of 58.9 billion yuan ($8.56 billion) in 2018. A total of 241 State-level high-tech enterprises have settled in the city. Xiamen Biobay is the incubation centre for local bio-medicine achievements.

Urban modern agriculture industry[edit]

Urban modern agriculture in Xiamen covers the planting industry, animal husbandry, agricultural and sideline products, the food processing industry, rural tourism and ecological leisure agriculture. In 2018, Xiamen's agricultural product processing developed steadily, with 44 leading agricultural industrialisation enterprises generating sales revenue of 55.3 billion yuan ($8.05 billion). Industrial parks include Xiamen cross-Straits agricultural high-tech park, Xiamen Tongan National Agricultural Science and Technology Park, Xiamen Tongan light industry food industrial park, Agricultural and sideline products logistics centre of southern Fujian, and Leisure agriculture areas including Xiangshan, Damaoshan and Zhubawuxian.