The Experience and Inspiration from Zhejiang’s Economic Transformation and Development

Abstract

As indicated by the 30-year course of Zhejiang’s reform and opening up, the pioneering work carried out by the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government at different stages was immeasurably important for building a prosperous Zhejiang. The great development of township enterprises and specialized markets in the 1980s was conducive to rapidly promoting Zhejiang’s urbanization and industrialization. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the “Eight-Eight Strategies” put forward by the 11th Party Committee of Zhejiang Province and the strategy of making the people rich by starting a business and of building a strong province through innovation—that strategy continues and expands the “Eight-Eight Strategies”—initiated the efforts to adjust Zhejiang’s economic structure and promote its transformation, elevating Zhejiang’s transformation of the economic developmental mode to a new level. Zhejiang has ranked No. 1 nationwide for 13 consecutive years in the per capita disposable income of urban residents; this undoubtedly suggests that Zhejiang has entered a new stage of economic transformation and upgrading and coordinated development. With solid work done to stay ahead, Zhejiang carried through one blueprint to pursue development over 10 years; obviously, the experience and inspiration from Zhejiang’s developmental practice in this process are great treasures for China as China is undergoing comprehensive economic transformation and upgrading. The previous chapters of this book provide a systematic analysis of institutional reform, open economy and new-type urbanization, while this chapter will, on this basis, fully summarize the basic characteristics of and experience from the 10-year-long development of Zhejiang’s economic transformation.