of electronics - the d o m in a n t industry - is used to go beyond the raw, at times inadequate, sta tistic s on the types and capital intensity of industries. Similarly, detailed analyses of the Shangbu, Shahe and Shekou Industrial D istricts are used to flesh out the m eagre inform ation on Shenzhen's industrial agglom eration. Hopefully, this strategy will provide p a rt of the necessary substance for determ inin g the degree to which g overnm ent directives have been fulfilled in the Zone.
T y p es o f In d u str y
Prior to the informal estab lish m ent of the Special Economic Zone in 1979, the industrial base of Shenzhen was very weak. In 1978, there were only 216 industrial enterprises in th e whole municipality: they were engaged in producing simple a gricultural e quipm ent and p etty com m odity goods (e.g. sugar, tobacco, and fertilizers). Industrial o u tp u t a m o u n te d to R m b 615,400,000, and the workforce totalled 6,550 (Zhou, 1984: Hu 1984b). Following the informal adop tion of the Special Economic Zone policy in 1979, and its formal im plem entation in 1980, the industrial sector in Shenzhen expanded rapidly. By the end of 1984, the n um ber of industrial enterprises had increased to 609 (S h e n z h e n Special E co n o m ic Zone Yearbook 1985:389). Light industry had become the m ajor emphasis of developm ent. Its o u tp u t had increased from Rm b 57.560.000 in 1978 to R m b 257,120,000 in 1982,3 R m b 443,890.000 in 1983, and Rm b 1.150.180.000 in 1984, accounting for 86 per cent, 77 per cent and 78 per cent of total industrial o u tp u t respectively in each year (Hu, 1984b; S h e n zh e n Special E con o m ic Zone Yearbook 1985:587).
Table 4.7 illustrates the suprem acy of the electronics industry in the M u n ic ip a lity ’s ind ustrial stru c tu re in 1983 and 1984. As most industries concentrated in the zonal area, the trend can also be applied to the Zone. T he electronics o u tp u t was responsible for m ore th a n 45 per cent of the to ta l industrial o u tp u t and its significance had risen sharply by 15 per cent w ithin these two years. The second largest industry, textiles, only accounted for around 9 per cent in both years, and the th ird , food, 5 to 8 per cent of o u tp u t. In 1983, oth er industries were, in descending order of value, chemicals, building m aterials, leather, sewing, m etal, s ta tio n e ry , forestry and electrical goods. As electronics is so d o m in a n t it is worthy of more detailed a tte n tio n .
E l e c t r o n i c s . As shown in T able 4.8, the electronics industry accounted for 48 per cent of to ta l industrial production betw een 1981 and 1984. Its share of to tal o u tp u t expanded from 45 per cent in 1983 to 60 per cent in 1984, and the absolute value of production alm ost tripled, reaching an all-time high of Rm b 1,036,000,000. Also, the
T a b le 4-7: Industrial O u tpu ts* of Shenzhen M unicipality by Sector, 1983 and 1984 Industry Rmb 1983 (1000) 1984 Per 1983 cent 1984 Electronics 327,000 1,035,910 45.4 60.0 Textiles 68,204 157,970 9.5 9.2 Food 58,778 89,630 8.2 5.2 Chemicals 48,834 60,740 6.8 3.5 Building materials 34,622 71,670 4.8 4.2 Leather 19,142 34,580 2.7 2.0 Sewing 18,977 21,470 2.6 1.2 Metal 16,011 35,000 2.2 2.0 Stationery 13,460 85,200 1.9 4.9 Forestry 8,602 19,250 1.2 1.1 Electrical 5,100 720 0.7 0.0 Miscellaneous 101,970** 113,940** 14.1 6.6 Total 720,700 1,726,080 100.0 100.0
Notes: * All values a dju sted to the 1980 c o n sta n t price. Hu (1984) qu oted the 1983 figures as zonal o u tp u ts , but the Yearbook published th em as m unicipal value. Since the Yearbook is the official source, the l a t t e r ’s p a ra m e te r is adopted. These figures differ from those contained in the Yearbook because the o u tp u ts of the non-electronic m achinery and the paper-making sectors are included. Sources: Based on Hu (1984b: 196-7); S h e n zh e n Special E co n o m ic Z one Yearbook
1985:588-9.
n u m b er of electronics enterprises in the M unicipality has increased from forty-one in 1983 to 160 in 1984, and more th an th ree-quarters of the enterprises were located within the Zone (S h e n z h e n Special Zone D a ily, 30 Ju n e 1985; S h e n z h e n Special E co no m ic Z one Yearbook 1985:391). The dom inance of the industry can be reflected in e m ploym en t as well. T he num ber of workers employed in the electronics industry expanded from 4,000 in 1981 to 5,400 in 1983. Then the industry really ’to ok-o ff as it
T a b le 4-8: O u tp u t Values of th e Electronics Industry in Shenzhen M unicipality, 1981-1984
Year Rmb
(1,000)
Total Industrial Output Per cent 1981 122,000 50.4 1982 128,000 35.6 1983 326,000 45.4 1984 1,036,000 60.0 Total 1,612,000 Average 48.0
Note: All values are a d ju ste d to th e 1980 c o n sta n t price.
Source: Based on S h e n zh e n Special Zone D a ily, 30 Ja n u a ry 1985, Hu (1984:194); S h e n zh e n Special E c o n o m ic Zone Yearbook 1985:588.
em ployed 15,000 in 1984 - tw o -th ird s of Shenzhen’s to ta l em ploym ent (S h e n z h e n Special Zone D a ily, 30 Ja n u a ry 1985; Yearbook o f C h in a ’s Special E co n om ic Zones 1983:164).
T a b le 4-9: T echnological Level of In d ustrial P ro d u ctio n in Shenzhen M unicipality, 1983-1984 Year Technology-Intensive Per cent Equipped with Advanced Facilities Per cent Labour-Intensive Per cent 1983 3 41 56 1984 5 45 50
Source: Based on S h e n zh e n Special Zone D a ily, 8 M ay 1985; Liu and Liang (eds.), 1985:80.
C a p i t a l I n t e n s i t y
U nfo rtu nately, there are no detailed d a ta on the capital intensity of different types of ind ustry in Shenzhen. However, an informal source, the Vice M ayor of Shenzhen M unicipality (Zhou Xiwu), has s ta te d in the S h e n zh e n Special Zone D a ily (8 May 1985) t h a t labour-intensive industry has decreased from 56 per cent in 1983 to 50 per cent in 1984 (Table 4.9). Correspondingly, industrial enterprises equipped with advanced technological e quipm ent rose slightly from 41 per cent in 1983 to 45 per cent in 1984. Likewise, industrial production using ‘advanced technology’ increased from 3 per cent in 1983 to 5 per cent in 1984.
T he technological levels of im p o rted equipm ent have been crudely classified by the Vice M ayor, the S h e n zh e n Special E co n o m ic Zone Yearbook 1985 and Liu an d Liang (eds.) (1985) (see Table 4.10). In particu lar, the Vice M ayor has highlighted t h a t adv anced e quipm ent exceeded t h a t of mediocre equipm ent by 9 per cent in 1984. Also, ‘backw ard e q u ip m e n t’ has dropped significantly - from 16 per cent to 1 per cent between 1983 and 1984. T hus, Zhou concluded t h a t the technological level of im po rted e q uip m en t had been rising. A closer exam ination of the main industry in the Zone, electronics, may further illustrate this situation.
T a b l e 4-1 0 : Technological Level of Imported Equipm ent in Shenzhen M unicipality, 1983-1984
Y e a r A d v a n c e d M e d i o c r e B a c k w a r d
P e r c e n t P e r c ent P e r cent
1983 37 47 16
1 984 54 45 1
Source: Based on S h e n zh e n Special Zone D a ily, 8 May 1985; Liu and Liang (eds.), 1985:80; S h e n zh e n Special E co nom ic Zone Yearbook 1985:389.
E l e c t r o n i c s . By 1984, more th a n 3,840 sets of equipm ent and m achinery have been im p orted for the electronics industry. These included: the Japan ese solar colour television produ ction line; liquid crystal indicators; and production lines for printed circuits, in te g rate d circuits, c om p u te r and soldering equipm ent. The nu m b er of technical personnel also increased from 400 in 1983 to 800 in 1984. P ro du ction of electronic prod u cts, however, has been concentrated on the assembly of household
appliances, electronic eq u ip m e n t, colour television sets, stereo equipm ent, com puterized telephone system s and micro computers. P ro duction of electronic com ponents and devices, such as in tegrated circuits and quartz resonators, also began to take place, and is expected to flourish between 1986 and 1990 (Hu, 1984b: 194-5; Zhongguo J in g ji Tequ Shouce: 13; S h e n zh e n Special Zone D a ily. 30 J a n u a r y 1985, 19 February 1985, 25 Ju n e 1985, 26 Ju n e 1985). No direct d a ta , however, are given on the technological level of electronics production. Nevertheless, it can be inferred from the Vice M a y o r’s press release t h a t production involved both intensive labour and advanced or mediocre eq u ipm en t. Yet it m ust be understood t h a t the facilities do not require the on-site producers to a rticu la te the technology, b u t simply to assemble m an ufactured p a rts. T h u s, having specified the general types and capital intensity of industries in Shenzhen, we can proceed to examine their location.
T a b le 4-1 1: Planned Industrial Districts in Shenzhen Special Economic Zone
D i s t r i c t s A r e a s q u a r e k i l o m e t r e s L i a n t a n g 0 . 8 S h u i b e i 0 . 5 B a g u a l i n g 1 . 0 S h a n g b u 1.4 F u t i a n 4 . 8 C h e g o n g m i a o 2 . 0 S h a h e 1 . 0 N a n t o u 1.5 H o u h a i 1 . 0 S h e k o u 1.0* T o t a l 1 5 . 0
Note: * In July 1984, the G uan g d o ng Provincial C o m m itte e passed a proposal for expanding the size of Shekou to 11 sq km.
I n d u s t r i a l L o c a t io n
Ten industrial d istricts are planned in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone (Table 4.11). F u tia n is the largest d istrict, occupying an area of 4.8 sq km, Chegongm iao is the second largest (2 sq km), while Bagualing, Shahe, Houhai, Shekou, Shangbu and N antou are medium-sized, and Liantang and Shuibei are relatively small.
As illustrated in Figure 4.3, these districts generally spread across the Zone’s so u th e rn and southw estern regions. M ost districts are set up for housing a varied range of industries except for Shangbu, which is specifically designed for electronics, Shuibei for m achinery and hardw are, and L iantang for textiles (Zhongguo Shouce: 1-51). Two new industrial estates are being contem plated : an industrial district located around F u tia n , assigned for teaching, research and production of scientifically-advanced goods; and an oil logistics base to be located along Shenzhen Bay which is to be associated with plan n ed petro-chemical plan ts (E c o n o m ic R eporter, 17 Septem ber 1984). By 1984, the ind u stria l districts of Shangbu, Shahe, and Shekou had been largely com pleted and put into operation. While the c o n struction of Shuibei, Bagualing, and N a n to u has been proceeding, others are either a t a very preliminary stage or in abeyance.
Industries, therefore, had been mainly concentrated in the Industrial D istricts of S h ang bu , Shahe and Shekou. Shangbu acquired the highest concen tratio n of o u tp u t value and num ber of enterprises. In 1984, the industrial o u tp u t of Shangbu a m o u n te d to R m b 600.000,000 - one th ird of to ta l municipal industrial o u tp u t (S h e n z h e n Special Z one D a ily, 26 Ju n e 1985). As illu strate d in Figure 4.4, the industrial o u t p u t value of Shekou was significantly smaller th a n t h a t of Shangbu, am o u n tin g to a b o u t Rmb 280,000.000^ (S h e n z h e n Special Z one H era ld, 14 M arch 1985). The o u t p u t value of Shahe has not been released. However, it could not have been higher th a n t h a t of Shekou since its scale of operation is smaller, as reflected in Figure 4.5.
In term s of num b er of firms, Figure 4.5 shows t h a t Shangbu acquired the highest c o n c en tra tio n in 1984. Moreover, these industrial firms were mainly involved with electronics production. In c o n tra s t, Shahe possessed a much smaller n u m b er of firms but its industrial s tr u c tu r e was more diversified, handling a wider variety of light industries including electronics. Conversely, Shekou possessed a wider m an u fa ctu rin g base, and a m ore even d istrib u tio n of industrial types as well (including heavy and light industries). It seems t h a t the Luohu A d m in istra tiv e District placed a m ajor em phasis on the
4. The original figure was given in Hong Kong dollars. Conversions are based on the exchange