Shantou, a coastal city in eastern Guangdong, experienced an average annual growth of 25.4% in the actual use of foreign capital during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), according to a press conference held in Guangzhou on January 4, as part of a series reviewing the province's development during this planning period.
The city added 285 new foreign-funded enterprises over the past five years, an increase of 10.5% compared to the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2015-2020). In 2025, the city's actual use of foreign capital reached 1.298 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 136.86%.
To foster a fair, stable, and predictable investment environment for foreign-funded enterprises, Shantou has reduced restrictions on the negative list for foreign investment by 12.1% since the 14th Five-Year Plan began.
Photo: Cao Yaqin
Shantou is one of the renowned overseas Chinese hometowns in China, as well as a key import and export port and a commodity distribution center in eastern Guangdong. It has developed traditional advantageous industries such as textiles and garments, chemicals and plastics, craft toys, and printing and packaging.
Olives, dragon fruits and other characteristic agricultural products of Shantou
Laver, tea and other characteristic agricultural products of Shantou
In 2024, Shantou Port handled 38.04 million tons of cargo and 1.78 million TEUs of containers, representing increases of 13.52% and 11.95%, respectively, compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period.
Currently, Shantou Port operates 39 container shipping routes, including 25 foreign trade routes. International liner routes provide direct services to major ports in Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia, with transshipment options to destinations worldwide.
Shantou-made drones
The textile and garment industry is Shantou's most distinctive and competitive pillar industry, with an output value exceeding 100 billion yuan. The city leads the nation in annual knitting and dyeing volumes of elastic fabrics, and its production of underwear and homewear accounts for nearly half of the national total.
Block lion-headed goose and red-headed ship
The toy and creative industry in Shantou is also leading in innovation. With plastic toy production accounting for about 70% of the national total, the city ranks first in the country in terms of the number of toy enterprise brands, IP licenses, and patent licenses.
As a coastal city, Shantou is harnessing offshore wind power as a new energy source. Three offshore wind power projects with a total installed capacity of approximately 1.2 million kilowatts and a total investment of over 18 billion yuan have been completed. Construction is also underway on the world's largest 40-megawatt-class wind power six-degree-of-freedom experimental platform.
Reporter | Chen Jinxia
Photo | Chen Jinxia
Editor | Hu Nan, James Campion, Shen He
