The release of first-half economic data for all 11 prefecture-level cities in Zhejiang has sparked renewed interest. Looking back at the first quarter, reports highlighted Hangzhou surpassing 600 billion yuan in GDP and Jiaxing topping the GDP growth rankings for the first time in 15 years, showcasing a strong drive. Now, at the halfway mark, the top three cities—Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Wenzhou—remain unchanged, but competition among the middle-tier cities has intensified. Behind the freshly released semi-annual reports, three structural changes in industrial output, services, and resident income merit closer examination.

Zhejiang's Manufacturing Sector Undergoes a Core Transformation

In the first half of the year, the added value of large-scale industrial enterprises in Zhejiang grew by 8.0% year-on-year, with industry continuing to serve as the economy's most robust stabilizer. A closer look at the indicators reveals a subtle but significant shift within this stabilizer: emerging industries like artificial intelligence are accelerating into the spotlight, becoming new engines for local economic growth, though each city has adopted a distinct approach. Shaoxing has chosen embodied intelligence, aiming to build a hub for AI application innovation. In the first half, its industrial added value grew by 10.9%, ranking second in the province. Behind this high growth, an even more impressive figure stands out: industrial robot output surged by 75.2%. Recently, a national-level event on embodied intelligence was held in Shaoxing's Shangyu district, with leading companies like Zhiyuan, Yushu, and UBTECH in attendance. The question arises: why was such an industry conference held in a county-level area? One answer is that Shangyu has already gathered 26 core enterprises in the embodied intelligence supply chain. Last year, it was included in Zhejiang's list of pilot future industry zones. For Shaoxing, promoting the clustering of the embodied intelligence industry has become a new growth driver for industrial upgrading and high-quality economic development. Hangzhou, in contrast, has followed an open-source large model plus industrialization path. In the first half, through policy guidance, ecosystem building, and technological breakthroughs by leading firms, it made significant progress in the AI open-source field, positioning itself as a hub for open-source ecosystems. From January to May, core AI industry revenue in Hangzhou reached 211.6 billion yuan, a 23.4% increase year-on-year. This growth rate has remained above 20% for several consecutive months, significantly outpacing the average growth of industrial and service sectors, making it a potential growth area for the city's economy. Ningbo, a manufacturing powerhouse, is redefining AI plus manufacturing through scenarios. In April, Ningbo released an action plan to create a highland for AI plus manufacturing full-scenario open innovation, proposing to use full-scenario open innovation as a core approach to bridge the gap between AI technology and industrial application. This strategy is showing results: in the first half, Ningbo's industrial added value grew by 8.9%, with high-end equipment, high-tech, and digital economy core manufacturing sectors achieving double-digit growth of 15.9%, 12.2%, and 11.2%, respectively. Today, AI in Zhejiang has grown into a tangible and measurable landscape.

Service Sector Expansion and Quality Enhancement

This year, from the national service industry conference to intensive provincial-level deployments, the service sector's role in the regional economic landscape has become increasingly important. In the first half, Zhejiang's service sector added value reached 2,867.8 billion yuan, a 5.5% increase year-on-year, accounting for 59.8% of GDP. Behind this, various cities have explored their own methods for expanding and upgrading services. Hangzhou, Ningbo, and Wenzhou, with their strong foundations, contributed most of the province's service sector growth. However, cities that previously did not stand out in the service sector are now emerging. Jiaxing is a typical example. In the first half, Jiaxing's service sector added value grew by 6.7%, ranking first in the province. Many may not have noticed that in 2025, Jiaxing's service sector accounted for only 49.6% of GDP, nearly 10 percentage points below the provincial average. This sudden growth spurt reflects the determination of this industrial city to catch up in services. Known for manufacturing, Jiaxing hosts global leaders like Tongkun, Jushi, Satellite Chemical, and Jinko Energy. But as the manufacturing advantage grows, the weakness in producer services—such as R&D, industrial software, and digital operations—becomes more apparent, leading to significant outsourcing. To address this, Jiaxing has leveraged three computing clusters, including Wuzhen Light, to strengthen the digital economy base. Through large-scale digital transformation of industrial enterprises, it has generated internal demand for industrial software and cloud services, fostering mutual empowerment between advanced manufacturing and digital services. Results are already emerging: in the first half, the added value of information transmission, software, and IT services in Jiaxing grew by 18.7%, and wholesale and retail trade added value grew by 7.1%. Jiaxing is not alone in this service sector race; other cities have taken different paths but achieved similarly positive outcomes. Shaoxing's service sector added value reached 224.6 billion yuan, growing by 6.3%, following a manufacturing extension route—its billion-yuan platforms like integrated circuits and biomedicine naturally generate demand for producer services such as R&D, testing, and supply chain management. Jinhua's service sector grew by 6.1%, driven by trade expansion. In the first half, cross-border e-commerce transaction volume in Jinhua surpassed 100 billion yuan for the first time, with the market procurement plus cross-border e-commerce plus overseas warehouse model, proven in Yiwu, now being replicated across the city. The digitalization of the world's supermarket essentially represents a digital transformation of the trade service sector. Whether it's industrial cities filling gaps, manufacturing powerhouses extending service chains, or trade cities undergoing digital transformation, this competition in the service sector is becoming a clear trend in Zhejiang's industrial structure evolution.

Regional Balanced Development

Regional development depends not only on speed but also on quality. In the first half, the ratio of per capita disposable income between urban and rural residents in Zhejiang was 1.64, narrowing by 0.03 from the same period last year and nearly 1 percentage point lower than the national average. This narrowing gap is not due to slower city growth but because rural areas are growing faster. In the first half, rural resident income in Zhejiang grew by 6.0%, 1.3 percentage points faster than urban areas. Taizhou is a case in point: rural per capita disposable income reached 26,527 yuan, a 6.6% increase year-on-year, ranking first in the province and 1.6 percentage points above urban growth. Taizhou has a strong manufacturing base and is also rich in agricultural products—like Sanmen crabs, Huangyan tangerines, Yuhuan pomelos, and Xianju bayberries. However, Taizhou has not stopped at good production; it has focused on building brands, extending chains, and expanding markets. These local specialties have grown into full industrial chains, with the abundant resources from mountains and coasts becoming solid support for increasing farmers' incomes. Last year, 16 of Taizhou's industrial chains were selected for Zhejiang's 2025 key cultivation list for specialty agricultural products, ranking first in the province. Jinhua, known for its trade, saw rural per capita disposable income reach 27,194 yuan, a 6.5% increase year-on-year, ranking second in the province. In Jindong's Baxian Jidao area, the integration of eight villages' resources led to a 154% increase in collective village income compared to before the merger. In Wucheng District's Changshan Township, Lujia Village linked with seven surrounding villages to form a Lujia area, using the Panda Pig International Ranch as a driver to connect diverse activities like homestays, camping, and modern agriculture. This is not unique to Jinhua. Previously, the biggest challenge in rural development was isolated efforts, but Zhejiang has now addressed this through area-based clustering. The province has launched 320 batches of provincial-level key village clusters across three phases, radiating to 5,364 surrounding villages. In the first half, the number of new business formats like study tours, wellness, and camping within these clusters increased by over 50%, enriching rural cultural tourism consumption scenarios and significantly boosting villagers' incomes. Looking back at this semi-annual report, these seemingly minor changes reveal the most authentic cross-section of Zhejiang's economy at this moment. As more places dare to try new paths, the future may open up entirely different possibilities.