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In the past 30 years, Xiamen has actively modified its industrial structure, strived to develop an advanced manufacturing industrial chain, and strengthened supporting capability for industries. The advanced manufacturing base on the west bank of the Taiwan Straits has been gradually taking shape along with the rapid development of port logistics, travel and exhibition and modern financial services. The coordinated development of the three industries in Xiamen has pushed forward the shaping of a new economic growth structure. After the establishment of the SEZ, the annual growth of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries stood at 1.1 percent, 20.1 percent and 17.7 percent, with upgraded primary and secondary industrial structures and increased proportion of the tertiary industry. The industrial structure of Xiamen has become more proportional.

Rural economic reform and agricultural restructuring

In the past three decades, the economic and social conditions in Xiamen's rural areas have undergone tremendous changes. Shortly after the establishment of the SEZ, local farmers fully adopted the household contract responsibility system, which helped eliminate equalitarianism and greatly boost the development of the rural economy. In recent years, Xiamen SEZ has coordinated rural and urban development in four aspects—planning, program, investment and policy. It has adopted a concentrated economic development strategy, strived to develop modern agriculture, improved agricultural production efficiency, and modified agricultural structure. In 2010, the SEZ's total output value of agriculture, husbandry, fishery and forestry stood at 3.753 billion yuan ($573 million), which was 13.4 times that of 1981 and recorded an annual growth rate of 3 percent. Fishery, husbandry, vegetable, fruit and flowers and plants have become five pillar industries of Xiamen's agriculture. It has set up a number of agriculture demonstrative gardens and production bases with different types and features. In addition, Xiamen has supported the development of a number of major agricultural companies, which has created some well-known brands. All those have greatly improved the competitiveness of Xiamen's agriculture, boosting the scale production and the international development of agriculture.

Agricultural bellwethers including Yinlu Group, Yinxiang Group and HEK Co. Ltd. strive to make new products, explore good-quality, differentiated and specialized products, cultivate sustained unique comparative advantages, and introduce standardized production and industrialized operation systems to more farmers. Through market exploration and occupation, those companies are able to sell more agricultural products in the international market. By the end of 2010, agricultural companies of Xiamen had owned 70 well-known brands, including 12 national brand names, four national brand products, 26 famous trademarks and 26 brand products of Fujian. In 2010, the SEZ had 11 agricultural companies whose industrial output value exceeded 500 million yuan ($76.33 million) and five companies with industrial output exceeding 1 billion yuan ($152.67 million). Xiamen Yinlu Group, Xiamen Zhongsheng Oil and Grains Co. Ltd. and Xiamen Bai Sui Hang Science and Technology Co. Ltd. have entered the ranks of the top 100 powerful companies of Xiamen. Their output value in 2010 totaled 20.526 billion yuan ($3.13 billion), bringing in $474 million in foreign exchange and paying 645 million yuan ($98.47 million) in taxes. The three companies, with a total plantation area of 159,000 mu (10,600 hectares), brought 1.19 billion yuan ($181.68 million) in revenue for local farmers.

Industry cluster effect

In the past three decades, Xiamen, taking advantage of the preferential policies that came with its position as one of the country's first SEZs, has made efforts to develop its advanced manufacturing industry. Today, a slew of industries, enterprises and products, featuring high technical content and wide recognition at home and abroad, has been established in Xiamen.

Xiamen is a state-level industry base for audio and visual communication, tungsten material, software, semiconductor lighting and electricity equipment, as well as the country's only pilot project of industry cluster in photoelectric displayer. At the same time, Xiamen, attaching great importance to the construction of industrial concentration zones and exploring new ways to industrialize, has been committed to improving the core competitiveness of its manufacturing industry, building a strong advanced manufacturing industrial base on the west bank of the Taiwan Straits and promoting the vital development of an industry-based economy.

In 2010, Xiamen realized a gross industrial output value of 378.1 billion yuan ($60.02 billion), 403.24 times greater than in 1981, with an annual growth of 23.0 percent. In 2010, Xiamen registered industrial added value of 86.59 billion yuan ($13.74 billion), accounting for 42 percent of the cities' GDP, 245.71 times greater than in 1981, with an annual growth of 21.1 percent. By the end of 2010, Xiamen had registered 2,214 enterprises of scale, among which 434 had an annual output value of more than 100 million yuan ($15.87 million) and realized total output value of 314.22 billion yuan ($49.88 billion), accounting for 83.1 percent of the city's gross industrial output value. In recent years, Xiamen has been vigorously promoting the construction of industrial concentration zones while adjusting administrative divisions and strengthening industrial planning. As a result, more than 40 small industrial zones have been integrated and a batch of top enterprises with indigenous innovation, famous brands and high market occupancy have been introduced into the industrial concentration zone to become the leading enterprises of related industries.