Wenzhou has officially joined the ranks of China's top economic performers, with its GDP surpassing 1 trillion yuan ($143.6 billion) in 2025, thanks to its dynamic private sector, robust industrial economy and technological innovation.

The announcement was made on Jan 20 at the 6th Session of the 14th Wenzhou Municipal People's Congress, making Wenzhou the third city in Zhejiang province to reach this milestone after Hangzhou and Ningbo.

Lyu Miao, an expert from the Yangtze Delta Region Institute of Tsinghua University, emphasized that this achievement is more than just a statistical breakthrough, "it represents a comprehensive leap forward in the city's stature, industrial structure and ecosystem for innovation ecosystem."

The milestone solidifies Wenzhou's role as the third pillar of Zhejiang's economy and aligns with Zhejiang's policy, initiated in 2022 and reaffirmed in 2024, to support the city's faster rise as a key hub for high-quality growth.

At the national level, Wenzhou is now one of 28 mainland cities that have reached the 1-trillion-yuan milestone, validating its successful evolution from a grassroots manufacturing hub to a sophisticated center of high-quality development.

"Wenzhou is now more resilient and ambitious, firmly shouldering its responsibility as Zhejiang's third economic powerhouse," said Lyu.

The private sector remains the defining feature and core competence of Wenzhou's economy. By November 2025, the city recorded a total of 1.564 million market entities, ranking top in Zhejiang. Private enterprises accounted for 90.8 percent of the value-added of regular industrial enterprises. This vibrant expansion of market players has provided the strongest momentum in the surge of the city's GDP.

A robust industrial economy serves as the stabilizer of Wenzhou's economic growth, supported by record-breaking resource supply. In 2025, Wenzhou supplied a record 15,200 mu (1,013 hectares) of industrial land. As resources flowed toward new quality productive forces, the industrial structure transformed. Last year, value-added output in the city's five traditional advantageous industries grew by 11.4 percent, while that of its five leading emerging industries rose by 12.6 percent. Meanwhile, Wenzhou's overall industrial output increased by 10.3 percent, ranking first in Zhejiang, and has outpaced national growth rates for 33 consecutive months.

Technological innovation is a crucial factor of Wenzhou's economic breakthrough. For five consecutive years, the municipal government has dedicated its first official meeting of the year to innovation. In 2025, government investment in science and technology rose by 10.4 percent. This funding supported Wenzhou's "eight major innovation projects", a comprehensive plan designed to streamline the path from laboratory research to market application. The city's "one port and five valleys" cluster of specialized high-tech zones also provides chances for technological innovation.

chenye@chinadaily.com.cn