Introduction
Wenzhou is the most advanced city in south Zhejiang, and is famous for its private sector. Light industry, like textile, garments, lighters and footwear are the cornerstone of Wenzhou's economy. Its diligent and pragmatic people, with their sharp business acumen, do business everywhere in China and abroad, and are known for their "Wenzhou Spirit".
Wenzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone (WZETDZ) was approved as a statelevel ETDZ by the State Council in March 1992. It is the only ETDZ in southern Zhejiang. WZETDZ is 11 km from Wenzhou Airport.
The main supporting industries of WZETDZ include textile and garment, leather products, biopharmaceuticals and environment protection technologies.
Investment Climate
In 2003, the GDP of WETDZ was RMB 5.45 billion (USD 659 million) and industrial output was RMB 13.25 billion (USD 1.60 billion). Foreign trade has been growing rapidly. In 2003, total foreign trade surged to USD 506 million, more than 70% higher than in 2002. For export alone, the value in 2003 reached USD 388 million, 60% higher than in 2002. Fixed asset investment was also accelerated. In 2003 RMB 3.6 billion (USD 435 million) was invested, 43% higher than in 2002.
By the end of 2003, 946 projects had been carried out in the Zone, which had total investment of RMB 15 billion (USD 1.81 billion). 226 of these are foreign investment projects which had total investment of USD 952 million. The contractual and utilized foreign investment stood at USD 303 million and USD 110 million respectively.
