The income compound growth rate of Foshan National Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, South China's Guangdong province, reached 8.18 percent, the largest increase in the last five years, according to a media briefing held on May 17. 

The briefing disclosed statistical highlights of the high-tech zone's economic development in 2020. According to new evaluation index system released by the Ministry of Science and Technology in late April this year, 32 of the zone's 41 quantitative indicators increased year-on-year. The zone's revenue in 2020 reached 521.5 billion yuan ($ 81.09 billion), exports totaled 87.6 billion yuan and gross industrial output value reached 443.4 billion yuan. Major economic indicators maintained stable growth despite the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Apart from the promising economic indicators, quality development indicators also showed strong performance. The number of national and provincial level research institutions has steadily risen. The number of technology-based SMEs and high-tech enterprises in the zone reached 1,323 and 2,931 respectively. The zone is also home to all of Foshan’s 24 national incubators, 26 provincial industrial research institutions and 17 technology centers of national enterprises.  

Continuous R&D input has yielded a drastic increase in patent numbers. In 2020, the valid patents in the zone exceeded 92,000, a year-on-year growth of over 44 percent, which means there are 2,555 valid patents for every 10,000 local residents. The number of registered PCT international patents in the year reached 667, almost 90 percent of the city's total. 

Meanwhile, income from innovation is in sync with R&D input and patent yielding. Enterprise R&D input matches output gained. In 2020, innovative technologies and products have yielded steadily rising income, with over 70 percent growth in both technological income and registered technology contract turnover.