Land Capitalization and Rural Industrialization: The Nanhai Development Model and Institutional Innovation

Author: Jiang Shengsan / Han Jun, Editors
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: Nanhai City is located in the central part of Guangdong Province, at the core of the Pearl River Delta, adjacent to Guangzhou and neighboring Hong Kong and Macau. In 1992, it was upgraded from a county to a city and currently administers 18 towns (districts) and 250 village administrative units. With an area of 1,150.51 square kilometers, it has a registered population of 1.07 million and a floating population of over 1 million. Since the reform and opening-up, Nanhai has achieved remarkable economic and social development, becoming one of the most economically developed county-level areas in China. In 2001, the city's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 39 billion yuan, with a total industrial and agricultural output value of 88.2 billion yuan. Its total fiscal revenue was 7.98 billion yuan, of which local revenue was 2.54 billion yuan. The per capita GDP was 35,500 yuan, approximately 4,277 US dollars. The average income of employees reached 13,352 yuan, and the average net income of farmers was 7,142 yuan. The added value of secondary and tertiary industries accounted for 94% of GDP, and 80% of the labor force was engaged in secondary and tertiary industries.
To reveal the economic development process, basic characteristics, and main experiences of Nanhai, the Development Research Center of the State Council formed a research team to conduct an in-depth study on issues such as the evolution of the economic structure, land system, foreign labor and urbanization development, enterprise property rights reform, fiscal system, financial system, and government regulation of the economy. The purpose of this report is to systematically summarize the experience gained during Nanhai's industrialization process and, through an analysis of Nanhai, identify some common challenges faced by emerging industrialized coastal regions in their economic development. On this basis, the report explores several issues in coastal economic development and proposes relevant policy ideas.