An important window for global exchanges

Population: 41,540,086 (2020)

Area: 124,000 square kilometers

Location: Southeast coast of China

Economy

A coastal province in the southeastern part of the country, Fujian has seen rapid development in the past five years.

Fujian's GDP registered 3.58 trillion yuan ($518.88 billion) in 2018, up 8.3 percent year-on-year.

The increase in Fujian's GDP since 2016 ranks it among the top 10 provinces and regions in the country for the first time.

It is also actively promoting an open economy of higher standards amid the country's ongoing further reform and opening-up.

Statistics show that Fujian's exports rose to 761.56 brillion yuan in value in 2018, up 7.1 percent year-on-year, becoming a pillar driving force for its economic growth.

And the actual utilization of foreign investment in the province reached over 30.53 billion yuan in 2018, a year-on-year growth of 3 percent.

Not only a magnet for foreign capital, Fujian is stepping up its overseas investment, as it endeavors to have further involvement in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative.

First proposed in 2013, the Initiative is a national key project that aims to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along ancient trade routes.

As an important node on the 21st Maritime Silk Road, the province's trade volume with the countries along the Road in 2018 increased by more than 11 percent.

Meanwhile, Fujian also enjoys an increasingly close economic relationship with Taiwan. The trade volume between the two parties hit 78.6 billion yuan in 2018.

Looking ahead, Fujian plans to further deepen the reform and opening up as a national-level FTZ and strengthen economic, cultural and people-to-people communications with the countries and regions under the umbrella of the Belt and Road Initiative.

It will also continue to push ahead with cooperation and exchanges with Taiwan in the fields of finance, trade and culture, and support more Taiwan youth to further their education, seek employment or start businesses in the region.

Administrative divisions

Fujian province governs 10 cities-Fuzhou, Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Quanzhou, Sanming, Puitan, Nanping, Longyan, Ningde and Pingtan, 44 counties, 9 urban districts and 12 county-level cities.