A Study On The Evolution And Development Of Wuhu Economic-Technological Development Zone

After establishing the first Economic-Technological Development Zones in 1984,these zones have recognized in-depth developments along with the pace of China's Reform and Opening-up Policy.After over thirty years of development,China's state-level Economic-Technological Development Zones' achievements are remarkable from the coastal areas to the inland,they went through a brilliant journey of making something out of nothing.They have become an essential engine of economic development,a main carrier of opening-up,an important platform of industrial agglomeration,an experimental domain of institutional reform and an exemplary base of transformation and development.These zones are the backbone of deepening the reform,expanding the opening-up and promoting sound and fast development,they are an important support of realizing regional development strategies.In a complicated global economic environment,China's economy has entered a developmental New Normal state where traditional industries are transforming and upgrading.Facing the problems such as not having strong industrial characteristics,non-optimized spatial distribution or weakened institutional advantages,these Economic-Technological Development Zones should actively adapt to the New Normal,raise the quality and efficiency of the economy and the city,fully implement the"innovation,coordination,green,open,sharing" concept of development,cope with new challenges in sustainable development of resources and environment,promote the supply-side structural reform and overcome institutional obstacles and limiting factors.It is imperative to create a new situation for the development of Economic-Technological Development zones.Studying the law of evolution and development of state-level Economic-Technological Development zones is of great theoretical and practical significance for the sustainable development of these zones.Theories such as growth-pole theory,externality theory,institutional change theories and evolutionary economic geography theory served as theoretical basis of this research,and quantitative as well as qualitative methods such as literature analysis,spatial analysis,DEA analysis and field research were used.Based on a systematic analysis of the number,economic,social,efficiency,spatial evolution and development characteristics,influencing factors and dynamic mechanisms of China's state-level development zones,the evolution and development of Wuhu Economic-Technological Development Zone is thoroughly examined in this study.The results show that,(1)characteristics of the evolution and development of China's state-level Economic-Technological Development zones:the number of these zones expands gradually from the southeast coastal areas to the central and western regions,there is a positive spatial correlation with a significant concentration as well as bigger economic scales in the eastern regions.Jiangsu Province in particular has always been the center of a high concentration.As for the overall efficiency,it's globally low,high in the west,and low in the mid-eastern regions,whereas the dynamic efficiency is high in the east and low in the mid-western regions.There are six development stages and four development models.External factors such as policies,factors and location,internal factors such as market,industry and innovation are among the main influencing factors of the evolution and development of state-level development zones.These zones are one of the major driving forces of China's economic and social development.(2)Characteristics of the evolution and development of Wuhu Economic-Technological Development zone:it went through four development stages:starting development,rapid development,stable development and transformational development;with four models:point agglomeration,point-surface integrated agglomeration,surface expanding and rapid development.It expands spatially from the southern part to the northern part of its northern area,as well as from its northern area to its eastern area.Its economic scale and contribution to Wuhu city grows year by year but its growth rate has huge fluctuations.Its working population gradually surpasses its residence population.Its overall development efficiency is relatively low,ranking 20 out of 43 state-level economic-technological development zones in China,and its dynamic efficiency is also low.On the other hand,the evolution of Wuhu Economic-Technological Development zone has three stages:the separation,integration and balanced development stages.External factors such as policies,location,factors and urbanization,internal factors such as market,economy,industry and innovation are among the main influencing factors of the evolution and development of Wuhu's Economic-Technological Development zone.This zone is the major driving force of Wuhu's economic and social development.State-level Economic-Technological Development Zones are the core support of regional economy.In order to meet the new requirements of the national regional development strategies,this thesis proposes that transformation,upgrading and innovation-driven development are inevitable requirements to adapt to the new trend of reform and opening-up.Facing the "New Normal of economic development",these zones should effectively turn the opportunities into a driving force for their development,adapt actively grasp and lead this New Normal of economic development.They should strive to do a solid job in several aspects,such as becoming the vanguard of construction of a new open economy system and cultivation of new advantages to attract foreign capital,an exemplary technological innovation-driven and green intensive development area,and a starting place for startups and innovation.Enhancing evolutionary research of state-level Economic-Technological Development Zones are practically beneficial to the sustainable development of these zones,it contributes to optimizing land-use pattern,adjusting regional economic layout,cultivating new economic growth poles,helping transforming the economy of areas where natural resources are exhausted and reducing regional development gaps.Theoretically,it contributes to enriching case studies of evolution of Economic-Technological Development Zones in geography as well as in urban economics.