The Zhoushan Archipelago New Area has celebrated its 10th anniversary, marking a rapid rise from remote islands to a national strategic high ground.

On January 17, 2013, the State Council approved the Development Plan for the Zhoushan Archipelago New Area in Zhejiang Province.

On March 27 of the same year, the provincial Party committee and government held a mobilization conference for the construction of the Zhoushan Archipelago New Area in Zhejiang, and the construction of the new area was launched.

Over the past 10 years, the new area has delivered a brilliant development report. From 2012 to 2022, Zhoushan's gross domestic product increased from 75.6 billion yuan (US$10.69 billion) to 195.13 billion yuan, showing an average annual growth rate of 8.6 percent and ranking first in the province.

The per capita GDP increased from 66,321 yuan to 167,134 yuan, ranking 10th among prefecture-level cities in China. The added value of industrial enterprises with an annual income exceeding 20 million yuan has surpassed 200 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 19.9 percent.

The income of urban and rural residents has jumped to 12th and 2nd place respectively in the country, and Zhoushan has become one of the fastest developing cities in the Yangtze River Delta region.

The "four sorts of island and one city" development pattern of an "international logistics hub island, gateway island for opening-up to the world, marine industry cluster island, international ecological leisure island, and maritime garden city" has been formed, and the archipelago has undergone comprehensive, systematic, and profound changes.

Xu Wenguang, deputy governor of Zhejiang, stated that in the past decade, Zhoushan has forged ahead and courageously advanced on the path of leapfrog development, achieving a strong rise from a remote archipelago to a national strategic high ground.

"It is a comprehensive leap from an economically weak city to a major marine industry city, a stride from a traditional fishing port to a world-class strong harbor, a magnificent transformation from a small island city to a garden city on the sea, and an overall leap from an overall well-off society to a high-level comprehensive well-off society, vividly demonstrating the speed of the new area.

"The strength and height of the new area vividly presents the beautiful scenery of 'four sorts of island and one city'."

He said that standing at a new starting point, Zhoushan should focus more confidently on strategic locations that ensure the security of national commodity resources, important platforms for expanding and opening-up to the world, leading regions for building a strong maritime province, and new growth poles for promoting high-quality development. Zhoushan should demonstrate stronger responsibilities in serving national strategies, demonstrate greater achievements in developing the marine economy, and shoulder a heavier mission in promoting common prosperity on islands.

"Be practical, take the lead, and stand at the forefront, actively promoting the new area to achieve new and greater development, advancing the construction of a modern marine city to a new level, and achieving new results. Strive to be a pioneer and write a new chapter in the province," Xu said.

He Zhongwei, Party secretary of Zhoushan, said that in the past decade, there has been leapfrog development and an overall leap in the economy and society.

"Over the past decade, we have opened up to the sea and bravely opened up toward new opportunities, with a series of national strategies being pushed forward in tandem.

"We aim to strengthen our maritime industry, drive innovation, and unleash vitality in the modern marine industry. We embrace all waters, advance our port and strengthen our city, and connect our maritime logistics hub to the world.

"We adhere to ecological priority, and the brand of 'Green Development in Zhoushan' is more prominent. We will coordinate and jointly build and share across the entire region, and the maritime garden city will bloom with new vitality."

Fan Hengshan, former deputy secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that as the planner, promoter, and a participant in the Zhoushan Archipelago New Area, he feels sincerely proud and gratified by the development achievements of the new area over the past decade.

"It is hoped that Zhoushan will always take the promotion of the Chinese path to modernization as its biggest political gaol and strive to be the vanguard of high-quality development," Fan said.

"Always take serving the 'good of the country' as our responsibility, and make greater contributions to accelerating the construction of a new development pattern.

"Always adhere to the principle to 'explore and practice' and actively explore and demonstrate for the in-depth implementation of the overall national regional development strategy and the strategy of building a maritime power."

Wang Hao, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, spoke of Zhoushan accelerating the upgrade of a free trade zone in the next stage; actively exploring measures for liberalization and facilitation; expanding and optimizing the trade and trading of bulk commodities; deepening regional integration, in particular with Ningbo and Shanghai; and deepening all-round cooperation with cities in the Yangtze River Delta region in fields such as industrial development and public services.

Xu Hongcai, executive director of the China Association of Policy Science, thought the implementation of low-carbon and dual carbon strategies and the transformation of energy in the future are both challenges and opportunities.

"For the new energy industry and the application of new materials, many are derived from petrochemicals, and breakthroughs need to be made in technological innovation. This is the direction of future efforts.

"For instance, can the unique marine industry of Zhoushan New Area become its brand name in the future? Can we discover substances beneficial to human life and health in the deep sea resources in the future?

"Moreover, we must utilize the linkage between the spot market of Zhoushan commodities and the multi-level financial market of Shanghai," Xu said.

He also believed it was the right time for Zhoushan to turn itself into a high ground of human resources by taking advantage of a large supply of high-quality talented people at present.