During the recently concluded local legislative sessions this year, Shenzhen's Nanshan District gained widespread attention as the nation's first district-level administrative area to achieve a GDP exceeding one trillion yuan. This milestone offers a concrete illustration of China's economic potential. The emergence of a district within China's "trillion-yuan GDP club" signals that behind Nanshan, numerous other districts with economies already surpassing the hundred-billion-yuan mark are poised to follow. Across China's 9.6 million square kilometers, there are over 2,800 county-level administrative regions.
As the nation begins its 15th Five-Year Plan, while some still discuss the perceived "ceiling" for China's economic growth, Nanshan District provides a definitive answer through its dynamic development: the internal depth and regional potential of the Chinese economy are far from fully realized. When a single trillion-yuan district evolves into a cohort, the broad prospects for China's economy will exceed current imagination.
The year 2026 began with a historic footnote for Shenzhen's Nanshan District: it became the first district in China to surpass one trillion yuan in GDP. From the "first shot" of reform and opening up in Shekou to reaching this economic milestone, Nanshan has completed a remarkable economic transformation.
To date, Nanshan District is home to more than 200 listed companies and has established a modern industrial system dominated by next-generation information technology, the digital economy, and biomedicine. This diverse industrial structure supports reasonable quantitative growth while insulating the economy from downturns in any single sector.
Nanshan's ascent is not accidental. Shenzhen, a pioneer city of reform, has instilled it with a基因 for institutional and ecological innovation. The development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has provided vast space for regional coordination. A positive interaction between a proactive government and an efficient market has fostered a "rainforest-like" corporate ecosystem where large enterprises stand tall, small and medium-sized enterprises are widespread, and innovative firms break new ground.
The breakthrough in Nanshan represents another wave in the transformation of China's regional economies. Behind this wave lies the accumulated strength of an economy with over 1.4 billion people—the world's second largest—and is a precursor to the explosive growth potential of regional economies under the nationwide effort to build a unified market.
Districts and counties like Kunshan and Jiangyin in Jiangsu Province, with GDPs already exceeding 500 billion yuan, are steadily advancing toward the trillion-yuan target. Others, such as Wuhou District in Chengdu and Changsha County in Hunan, are accelerating their pursuit. These "hundred-billion-yuan" counties and cities form the vanguard of China's regional economic growth and are crucial engines for future development.
Nanshan's achievement coincides with a critical period of accelerating the development of a unified national market. The advancement of this national strategy is breaking down traditional regional barriers, reshaping the economic landscape, and providing the institutional framework necessary for more districts and counties across China to replicate the "Nanshan miracle."
The construction of a unified national market, through reforms in market-based allocation of production factors, interconnected infrastructure, and unified rules and standards, is creating unprecedented opportunities for the emergence of more "hundred-billion-yuan" counties and "trillion-yuan" districts. Regions once constrained by geography, market size, or resource allocation efficiency can now integrate resources and expand their markets on a much larger scale.
Data shows that in 2024, the collective economic output of China's county-level economies accounted for nearly 40% of the national GDP, signifying their importance to the national economy. The development gap between regions is gradually narrowing, with central and western regions experiencing growth rates higher than eastern regions for several consecutive years, demonstrating a positive catch-up dynamic.
For instance, Jiangyin City in Jiangsu boasts over 60 listed companies and has formed distinctive industrial clusters. Yiwu City in Zhejiang has built a global trade network for buying and selling worldwide. Changsha County in Hunan has cultivated two hundred-billion-yuan industries: construction machinery, and automobiles and auto parts.
These uniquely characterized counties, districts, and cities are shining like stars, spreading from the traditional Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta regions to the vast central and western areas. They are advancing toward the "trillion-yuan" goal on various tracks.
China's total economic output has surpassed the 140 trillion yuan mark. When ten, twenty, or even more county-level economies reach the trillion-yuan scale like Nanshan, the internal structure and growth logic of the Chinese economy will undergo a profound transformation—not just reasonable quantitative growth, but effective qualitative improvement and coordinated regional development.
The pace of industrial upgrading will accelerate. Specialized competitive advantages in sectors like Kunshan's electronics information, Jinjiang's sporting goods, and Cixi's small household appliances will drive China's economy toward higher-end, smarter, and greener transformation, forming a group of advanced industrial clusters with global competitiveness.
These areas are becoming carriers of innovation-driven development. Nanshan District possesses over 860 invention patents per 10,000 people, approximately 22.9 times the national average. Kunshan City is home to more than 3,500 high-tech enterprises, with R&D spending accounting for 3.88% of its GDP. As county-level clusters develop rapidly, high-quality innovation resources will diffuse to broader regions, becoming vital carriers for nationwide innovation.
An economic structure supported by multiple points is more stable and has stronger growth momentum than one driven by a single pole. When a large number of county-level economies reach trillion-yuan scale, the foundation of China's economy will be more stable, its resilience greater, and its potential larger. Overall capabilities to withstand risks and achieve sustainable development will be significantly enhanced, allowing it to better cope with external shocks and economic cycles.
Nanshan's breakthrough is not an endpoint, but a new starting point; not an isolated case, but a prelude. Across the vast land of China, over 2,800 districts and counties are like seeds, nurturing a vigorous force ready to emerge.