Situated on the southeastern coast of the Chinese mainland, Fujian covers a land area of 121,400 square kilometers, of which 80% is mountainous, and a sea area of 136,000 square kilometers, with a population of 36.27 million. Under its jurisdiction are nine municipalities: Fuzhou, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Sanming, Putian, Nanping, Longyan, and Ningde, with 85 counties (or cities at county level) and districts.
Facing Taiwan across the Straits, Fujian is the starting point of the ancient Marine Silk Route, and an economic powerhouse opening to the outside world. The coastline runs as long as 3,525 kilometers, creating from north to south more than 120 natural harbors of all sizes with favorable conditions.
Fujian sits in the subtropical zone and is influenced by the subtropical oceanic monsoon climate with warm weather and plenty of rainfall. The annual mean temperature ranges between 17℃ and 21℃. The province is richly endowed with natural resources. Dozens of mineral deposits are available. The woodland accounts for 63.1% of the total, which is ranked first in the country.
Major ethnic groups in Fujian are the She, Hui, Man, Miao, and Gaoshan. Among the overseas Chinese and Chinese with foreign citizenship all over the world, more than 12 million are of Fujian origin. And over 1.2 million compatriots in Hong Kong and Macao, as well as 80% of the Taiwanese, trace their ancestral roots to Fujian.
In early 2004, Fujian unfurled the development strategy of building the Western Taiwan-Straits Economic Zone featuring an opening-up economy, balanced development and overall prosperity. The Fujian-centered Zone, encompassing its surrounding areas and interacting with Taiwan, is a regional economic complex with distinctive characteristics and advantages. Its build-up, with the full recognition of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, aims to serve the great cause of national reunification and contribute to China's overall development. It also commits itself to becoming a major platform for national reunification, a hub for communications and cooperation among the Chinese mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, and an engine for China's economic growth.
In May 2009, the State Council issued Opinions on Supporting Fujian’s Effort to Accelerate the Development of the Western Taiwan-Straits Economic Zone, laying out the strategy and objective for the Zone, and setting forth supporting policy measures in detail. To be specific, the objective is to turn the Zone into an area pioneering new approaches to enhance cross-Straits exchanges and cooperation, a new versatile gateway to serve its surrounding areas, an advanced manufacturing base on the eastern coast, and a key tourist destination with great natural and cultural interest.
Over the past 30 plus years of reform and opening-up, Fujian has witnessed rapid economic development. In 2010, its GDP reached RMB1.38 trillion, an increase of 13.8% over the previous year. Fixed asset investment totaled RMB827.3 billion, up 30%. It has established business links with over 190 countries and regions. Total trade volume amounted to US$108.8 billion in 2010, up 36.6%, among which export was US$71.5 billion, up34.1%. The paid-in FDI reached US$ 10.3 billion when it was calculated on a comparable basis. The total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 18.9%, and the overall level of CPI rose by 3.2%. The per-capita disposable income of urban residents was RMB 21,781, a factual increase of 8%, and the per-capita net income of rural residents was RMB 7,427, up 7.5% in real terms.
In March 2011, the State Council officially launched the Development Plan for the Western Taiwan-Straits Economic Zone, which set a new milestone for Fujian’s development after the promulgation of Opinions on Supporting Fujian’s Effort to Accelerate the Development of the Western Taiwan-Straits Economic Zone. Obviously, it will be a new catalyst for the development of the Western Taiwan-Straits Economic Zone.
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