Harbor Business Observation, Shi Zifu, Wang Lu

As the globally recognized 'China Silicon Valley' and one of the nation's most innovative cities, Shenzhen's economic progress serves as a vital indicator, representing a comprehensive blend of both soft and hard power.

In the first quarter of 2026, Shenzhen delivered a stellar performance that has garnered widespread acclaim.

1

Multi-Industry Growth Surges, Momentum Remains Strong

On April 22, the Shenzhen Statistics Bureau released the city's economic data for the first quarter of 2026. According to Guangdong Province's unified GDP calculations, Shenzhen's GDP reached RMB 959.413 billion in Q1 2026, marking a 5.8% year-on-year increase. The added value of the primary industry was RMB 642 million, up 7.3%; the secondary industry reached RMB 322.347 billion, also up 7.3%; and the tertiary industry hit RMB 636.425 billion, up 5.0%.

The impressive figures underscore Shenzhen's core competitiveness and vast potential: in Q1, the city's industrial added value for enterprises above a designated size grew by 8.7% year-on-year, accelerating by 3.3 percentage points from the previous year. Among major industries, the computer, communication, and other electronic equipment manufacturing sector increased by 13.9%. Notably, production of industrial robots, 3D printing equipment, and lithium-ion battery products surged by 74.2%, 71.8%, and 25.9%, respectively. The city's service sector added value reached RMB 636.425 billion, up 5.0% year-on-year, with the financial sector, information transmission, software and IT services, and scientific research and technical services growing by 9.7%, 7.3%, and 5.9%, respectively.

Moreover, in Q1, the city's total import and export volume reached RMB 1,316.613 billion, up 33.6% year-on-year. Exports stood at RMB 724.028 billion, up 24.3%, while imports reached RMB 592.585 billion, up 47.2%. High-tech product exports grew by 21.5%. In March alone, the total import and export volume was RMB 492.840 billion, up 28.1% year-on-year, with exports at RMB 229.706 billion (up 5.5%) and imports at RMB 263.134 billion (up 57.6%).

In short, Shenzhen's total import and export growth in Q1 this year accelerated by 32.5 percentage points compared to last year, accounting for half of the province's foreign trade volume and contributing over 80% of its incremental growth.

According to Shenzhen Customs statistics, in Q1, the city's private enterprises handled RMB 959.23 billion in imports and exports, up 42.4%, accounting for over 70% of the total and contributing 86.2% of the city's foreign trade incremental growth. Their scale ranked first among mainland cities, with 46,000 private enterprises engaging in foreign trade, up 38.3%, representing 8.4% of the national total. Meanwhile, private enterprises' high-tech product exports reached RMB 121.01 billion, a record high, with growth exceeding 50%. New product categories gained traction in overseas markets, with 3D printer exports up 70.2% and digital camera exports up 65.1%, both ranking first among mainland cities.

Jin Xinyi, a renowned economist, Vice President of the Shenzhen Soft Science Research Association, and former Shenzhen People's Congress representative, attributed Shenzhen's strong Q1 economic data to the driving force of the 'New Three Drivers' (new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, photovoltaics) and the 'Newer Three Drivers' (robots, AI, innovative pharmaceuticals). Shenzhen leads domestically in several of these fields, underpinning its robust industrial and export performance and solidifying its status as China's Silicon Valley.

Bo Wenxi, Vice Chairman of the China Enterprise Capital Union and Chief Economist for China, noted that Shenzhen's Q1 GDP growth outpaced the national average, demonstrating strong resilience. He summarized its core advantages in three points:

1. Global-leading sci-tech innovation ecosystem: The 'Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou' innovation cluster topped the Global Innovation Index, with R&D intensity reaching 6.67% (highest among Chinese cities). PCT international patent applications ranked first nationally for 22 consecutive years, and domestic patent grants led for eight straight years.

2. Outstanding industrial strength: Shenzhen boasts a complete industrial chain in electronic information and high-end equipment manufacturing. Five major clusters—semiconductors and integrated circuits, industrial robots, and low-altitude economy—all achieved double-digit growth in Q1, forming a tiered industrial echelon led by industry leaders.

3. Nationally leading business environment: Shenzhen pioneered 'instant reporting and approval' and 'automatic eligibility' government services, with 48 innovative practices promoted nationwide. It has been rated as the city with the best business environment reputation for multiple consecutive years.

Indeed, the National Development and Reform Commission recently released the 2025 annual monitoring results of the National Urban Comprehensive Credit Index: Shenzhen ranked first among 36 provincial capitals and sub-provincial cities with an annual average score of 89.18, achieving a historic breakthrough.

2

Fruitful Innovation Ecosystem, Promising Prospects for AI Hardware and Software

Guo Tao, an angel investor and senior AI expert, told Harbor Business Observation that Shenzhen's stellar Q1 economic growth relied on three pillars. First, its solid manufacturing foundation, underscored by its strategy of prioritizing manufacturing, has driven strong momentum in above-scale industries, with continuously improving capacity in high-tech sectors like industrial robots, solidifying the industrial base for growth. Second, its open economy's advantages continue to unfold, with foreign trade achieving rapid growth, steady expansion in import and export scale, and standout performance in high-tech product exports, deeply integrating into global supply chains and effectively upgrading local industries. Finally, reform and innovation momentum remain strong, with Shenzhen leveraging its special economic zone's unique legislative advantages to refine rules for emerging industries, fostering a high-quality legal environment for development. The region's concentration of high-tech and specialized enterprises, coupled with sustained increases in societal R&D investment, has injected strong impetus into economic development.

'Shenzhen's core competitiveness stems from its strong high-end manufacturing capabilities and mature open economy. In innovation, it has forged a practical, industry-oriented innovation path, deeply integrating R&D with local production scenarios to accelerate innovation commercialization. It has built an enterprise-led innovation ecosystem, with leading firms driving collaborative technological upgrades across upstream and downstream sectors, forming a complete innovation chain. As a national autonomous innovation demonstration zone, Shenzhen has achieved fruitful innovation results, leading the nation in international patent applications for years, maintaining high R&D investment as a share of GDP, and ranking among the nation's top in innovation strength,' Guo said.

Both market consensus and expert views seem to place Shenzhen's greater ambitions in the AI hardware and software sector, including industrial robots.

Bo noted that in the AI hardware and software race, Shenzhen holds a globally unique competitive edge: it has built a 'supercomputing + intelligent computing' dual-engine computing infrastructure, with over 2,600 AI-scale enterprises forming a full-stack ecosystem from underlying chips and large models to application scenarios. It has introduced supportive policies such as a RMB 10 billion AI industry fund and an 'AI+' scenario list. Production of robots and 3D printers surged by 74.2% and 71.8%, respectively, in Q1, with technology commercialization far outpacing the national average.

Bo remains optimistic about the prospects of industrial robots: on one hand, overseas market demand is strong, with Shenzhen firms like Ubtech and DJI exporting industrial and humanoid robots in bulk globally; on the other hand, Shenzhen has formed a complete 'R&D-mass production-scenario validation' closed loop, with sustained policy support ensuring strong industrial growth certainty.

Guo pointed out that in the AI hardware and software sector, Shenzhen will continue to solidify its domestic leadership and global competitiveness. It possesses a complete electronic information industrial chain, providing comprehensive support for AI hardware R&D and production. Its diverse local industrial scenarios offer broad practical spaces for AI technology application, while a large number of tech firms have comprehensively deployed AI, building a full-industry-chain innovation matrix. Additionally, key regions are driving AI industry cluster development, attracting numerous related firms and solidifying the industrial foundation and application ecosystem, further strengthening AI industry advantages.

The rapid development of the industrial robot sector results from multi-faceted collaboration among market demand, technological supply, and policy support. Expansion and upgrading of industries like new energy vehicles and intelligent manufacturing transformation in manufacturing have spurred strong demand for robot applications. Continuous breakthroughs in core technologies for domestic robots, rising localization rates of key components, and significantly improved cost-effectiveness and intelligence levels of products have further fueled growth. Supportive policies for intelligent manufacturing across regions have optimized the industrial development environment, accelerating the sector.

Guo believes that while industrial robots hold broad prospects for helping enterprises reduce costs and increase efficiency and driving manufacturing upgrades, the industry still faces challenges like high-end technology shortages and insufficient application willingness and capabilities among SMEs. Future efforts should focus on strengthening innovation-driven development, optimizing the industrial ecosystem, and addressing development bottlenecks to promote high-quality, large-scale industrial growth.

Guo summarized: Shenzhen's industrial robot sector has achieved rapid growth, thanks to the superposition of multiple advantages. On one hand, by optimizing industrial spatial layouts and creating high-quality industrial carriers, it has integrated industrial resources and provided solid spatial support for development. On the other hand, local firms have made continuous technological breakthroughs, achieving significant progress in humanoid robot R&D and mass production, enhancing core industrial competitiveness. Meanwhile, Shenzhen has built robot industry cluster parks, forming a complete industrial chain covering algorithms, core components, and complete machine manufacturing, unleashing strong industrial clustering effects and driving rapid sector development. (Produced by Harbor Finance)