On July 30, the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Statistics released the economic data for the first half of the year: the city’s GDP reached 1.832226 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.1%. Among them, the value added of the secondary industry was 650.556 billion yuan, an increase of 3.3%, demonstrating strong resilience in industrial production amidst a complex environment.
Notably, the value added of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 4.3% year-on-year, with the growth rate accelerating by 0.1 percentage points compared to the first quarter. The robust growth in the energy sector, such as electricity and heat, along with breakthroughs in key areas like general equipment manufacturing, has injected core momentum into Shenzhen’s high-quality economic development.
Structural Optimization: New Engines, New Leapfrogs, New Explosions
1. Energy Revolution Leading the New Growth Engine
The electricity, heat, gas, and water production and supply industry performed exceptionally well, with a year-on-year increase of 11.8% in value added. This impressive achievement stems from Shenzhen’s strategic layout in the green energy sector.
The 2025 Shenzhen Municipal Government Work Report clearly states the need to accelerate the construction of a new energy system.Actively promoting the second channel for electricity transmission from eastern Guangdong to Shenzhen, the landing of offshore wind power at Honghai Bay, the environmental replacement of coal machines at the Mawaan Power Plant, the upgrade and transformation of CNOOC power plants, and the construction of the Zhang-Guang DC project (Shenzhen section), among others. Planning and constructing pumped storage power stations. Carrying out preliminary work for the natural gas pipeline landing in Shenzhen from the South China Sea. Adding 2 million kilowatts of new power generation capacity. Increasing the electrification ratio of terminal energy consumption to over 50%.Improving the green, low-carbon, circular economic development system. Creating a healthy development ecosystem for green and low-carbon industries, accelerating the construction of a green manufacturing and service system, and continuously enhancing the “green content” of the industry.
▲Image Source: Tuchong Creative
2. Technological Leap in Advanced Manufacturing
The rapid growth of the general equipment manufacturing industry (17.1% growth), the instrument and meter manufacturing industry (8.8% growth), and the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry (8.2% growth) reflects Shenzhen’s deep accumulation in the field of intelligent manufacturing.
Taking industrial robots as an example, by 2024, the total output value of Shenzhen’s robotics industry chain is expected to exceed 200 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.58%, maintaining the top position in the country. The number of new enterprises has increased by 39.64% year-on-year.Leading companies like Tencent, Huawei, and DJI have made intensive patent layouts in core components and system integration, significantly boosting the production of industrial robots. This “strong hard technology and not weak soft power” industrial ecosystem has built Shenzhen’s unique advantages in high-end equipment manufacturing.
▲On May 22, 2025, the 21st China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Expo opened grandly at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center. The image shows a robot playing the piano. Image Source: IC photo
3. Explosive Growth of High-Tech Products
Civil drones (59% growth), industrial robots (38% growth), and 3D printing equipment (35.8% growth) have seen a surge in production, reflecting Shenzhen’s rising position in the global industrial chain.
Taking civil drones as an example, Shenzhen holds 70% of the global market share. Leading companies like DJI have successfully expanded consumer drones into vast industrial fields such as agricultural protection and logistics delivery through continuous technological iteration and scenario innovation.
Policy Empowerment: Technological Upgrades, Collaborative Synergy
In the first half of the year, investment in industrial technological transformation in Shenzhen surged by 48.2%, directly benefiting from the measures introduced in 2023, “Several Measures to Accelerate the Technological Transformation and Upgrading of Industrial Enterprises under the New Situation”. The policy provides up to 50 million yuan in funding for intelligent transformation and 30% subsidies for green transformation, strongly promoting the renewal of enterprise equipment.
Additionally, Shenzhen’s “20+8” industrial cluster related policies have achieved significant results since their implementation in June 2022.
▲Shenzhen Nanshan High-tech Park. Image Source: Tuchong Creative
In 2023, the value added of strategic emerging industries in the city reached 1.45 trillion yuan, an increase of 8.8%, accounting for 41.9% of the GDP.
The implementation plan for accelerating the development of new quality productivity and further promoting the high-quality development of strategic emerging industry clusters and future industries, released in March 2024, is the 2.0 version of the “20+8” industrial cluster, which dynamically adjusts the cluster categories based on the 1.0 version, adding low-altitude economy and aerospace industry clusters, among others. At the same time, the strategic emerging industry clusters are divided into four categories: strategic priorities, advantage expansion, basic support, and comprehensive enhancement, with targeted policies, precise cultivation, and resource allocation to further consolidate advantageous fields, forge core strengths, and address weaknesses.
Under the impetus of policies, various industrial clusters are developing rapidly.
For example, the high-end equipment industry cluster has introduced several measures to promote high-quality development, providing key support in terms of industrial policy, financial support, industrial space, talent rewards, and platform services for eligible products, platforms, and projects.
For major strategic original projects, special support is provided through “major technological breakthrough projects + first set policy + municipal government guidance fund support + post-subsidy”. This measure emphasizes breakthroughs in major equipment technology, providing up to 30 million yuan in funding for major technological equipment breakthroughs; on the application side, encouraging downstream user enterprises to provide technical improvements and feedback for major equipment development; and on the talent side, leveraging Shenzhen’s high-level talent policies to increase subsidy intensity and attract talent teams and individuals undertaking major technological equipment breakthrough projects.
Looking to the Future: Breaking Through, Transforming, and Ecological Evolution
The core competitiveness of Shenzhen’s industry lies in its “basic research + technological breakthroughs + industrialization of achievements + technological finance + talent support” full-process innovation ecological chain.
Leading industrial innovation with technological innovation, driving urban innovation “hardcore strength” continues to improve. The steady growth of Shenzhen’s industry in the first half of the year is a vivid illustration of China’s high-quality economic development. In the face of severe challenges such as tariff wars and supply chain restructuring, Shenzhen has demonstrated strong economic resilience through policy innovation, technological breakthroughs, and ecological construction.
In the future, with the deepening implementation of the “20+8” industrial cluster policy and the accelerated cultivation of future industries such as the low-altitude economy, Shenzhen is expected to further consolidate its leading advantage in the global industrial landscape, contributing a more benchmark-worthy “Shenzhen solution” to exploring China’s new industrialization path and becoming an important source of new quality productivity.
Source: Chalisit
Written by: Wang Rui
Edited by: Liang Nuan, Wu Junxia , Liu JiayongReviewed by: Shi Bingbing, Wu Qintong , Sun Yan
Reprint with permission
