On January 20, the sixth session of the 14th Wenzhou Municipal People's Congress was held, where Mayor Zhang Wenjie revealed in his government work report that the city's gross domestic product is expected to surpass one trillion yuan in 2025. As a major hub for the private economy, Wenzhou serves as the "third pole" in Zhejiang Province alongside Hangzhou and Ningbo. In 2024, the city achieved a GDP of 971.88 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 6.3% calculated at constant prices. The total GDP is now very close to the one-trillion-yuan threshold. By the end of 2024, the city's permanent resident population reached 9.852 million, an increase of 91,000 people compared to the end of the previous year. Analysis shows that Wenzhou's population growth in 2024 ranked first among ordinary prefecture-level cities.

According to local media reports, the private economy has always been the most distinctive feature and core competitiveness of Wenzhou's development. As of November 2025, the total number of registered private enterprises and individual businesses reached 1.564 million, ranking among the top in the province; the value-added of private industrial enterprises above designated size accounted for 90.8% of the total industrial value-added above designated size. The active expansion and enhanced capabilities of market entities have become the strongest foundation for Wenzhou's push towards a trillion-yuan GDP.

Tang Haiju, Vice Chairman of the Zhejiang Urban Science Research Association, analyzed that Wenzhou itself has unique characteristics and abundant external resources. Not only do many Wenzhou natives travel throughout the country, but they also reach various parts of the world, bringing rich resources in capital and information. In recent years, Wenzhou has fully leveraged these resource advantages by expanding its platforms. Tang Haiju further explained that Wenzhou has made significant efforts in revitalizing traditional industries and cultivating emerging industries in recent years, creating favorable conditions for development. The city has placed great emphasis on technological advancement and the construction of higher education institutions, recognizing that strengthening scientific and educational resources can more effectively support industrial development.

Meanwhile, Zhejiang's transportation infrastructure, including high-speed rail, has continued to improve in recent years. Hangzhou's scientific and educational resources can now more effectively contribute to the enhancement of Wenzhou's industries, thereby boosting the city's economic development. On January 3 this year, Wenzhou held the Municipal Party Committee Economic Work Conference and the Promotion Meeting for Building an Innovative Wenzhou. This "First Meeting of the New Year" for 2026 marked the fifth consecutive year that Wenzhou has focused on the theme of innovation development at the start of the year. Currently, Wenzhou has deeply implemented a new three-year action plan for the construction of large-scale incubator clusters, vigorously promoted the enhancement of "One Port and Five Valleys" including China Digital Security Port, optimized the innovation ecosystem, and is building itself into a pioneering city for artificial intelligence innovation and development.

Adhering firmly to the "Strong Industrial City" strategy, Wenzhou is iterating the industrial chain leader system, cultivating and expanding the "5+5+N" modern industrial clusters, building high-level scientific and technological innovation platforms, and creating a high-level innovative city characterized by "technological innovation, industrial revitalization, and talent development." With Wenzhou joining the ranks of cities with a trillion-yuan GDP, the total number of such cities has now increased to 28. These include 4 municipalities directly under the central government (Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing), 11 provincial capital cities (Guangzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Changsha, Zhengzhou, Hefei, Fuzhou, Jinan, Xi'an), 3 cities specifically designated in the state plan (Shenzhen, Ningbo, Qingdao), and 10 ordinary prefecture-level cities (Suzhou, Wuxi, Nantong, Changzhou, Foshan, Dongguan, Quanzhou, Yantai, Tangshan, Wenzhou).