Recently, a set of latest data released at the Zhuhai special press conference on the “Achievements of Guangdong in the 14th Five-Year Plan Period” has offered a perspective to observe the new momentum of Zhuhai’s industrial development. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, adhering to manufacturing as the cornerstone of its development, Zhuhai has cumulatively nurtured 16 national-level champion enterprises in individual segments and 136 specialized, sophisticated, distinctive and innovative (SDSI) “Little Giant” enterprises. The profit margin of industrial enterprises and the qualification rate of manufactured products in the city both rank first in Guangdong Province.
In the “pyramid” system of China’s manufacturing sector, stretching from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) at the base, to SDSI enterprises and “Little Giants” in the middle, and up to “champion enterprises in individual segments” at the apex, the scale and quality of each tier serve as an accurate gauge of a city’s endogenous innovation strength. As regional competition increasingly centers on the integrity and control power of industrial chains, these 136 “Little Giants”, with their edge of specialization, refinement and distinctiveness, are driving a profound transformation of Zhuhai’s manufacturing industry – a shift from “scale expansion” to “value creation”.
Strategic Layout First: Building Comparative Advantages in Regional Competition and Cooperation
As early as 2020, Zhuhai took the lead in Guangdong Province to introduce municipal-level selection measures for SDSI SMEs and launched the corresponding selection and cultivation work. Today, the gradual emergence of 136 national-level “Little Giant” enterprises is the result of Zhuhai’s sober understanding of its own comparative advantages and forward-looking layout, standing among manufacturing powerhouses such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan and Dongguan in the Pearl River Delta.
In the seventh batch of national-level SDSI “Little Giant” enterprises publicly announced by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) at the end of October this year, 36 Zhuhai-based enterprises made the list. Geographically, Zhuhai National Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone tops the list with 12 selected enterprises, followed by Xiangzhou District with 9, Doumen District and Jinwan District with 6 and 5 respectively, and Zhuhai Economic and Technological Development Zone with 4. This innovative matrix featuring “blooming flowers in multiple spots and all-region coordination” demonstrates the resilience and vitality of Zhuhai’s innovation ecosystem.
The transformation of the printing equipment industrial cluster in Xiangzhou District is a microcosm of this industrial shift. Starting from OEM manufacturing in the early years, the cluster has now developed into one of the world’s industrial clusters with the most complete industrial chain and leading technological level. It has not only spawned two national champions in individual segments, but also nurtured 4 national-level “Little Giants” and 26 provincial-level SDSI enterprises, forming a sound ecosystem for the integrated development of large, medium and small enterprises.
The core driving force behind this transformation stems from the “pressure principle” of R&D investment. The average R&D intensity of Zhuhai’s “Little Giant” enterprises reaches 7%, nearly double the average level of the city’s industrial enterprises above designated size. As the dividends of scale gradually fade away, building a technological moat through sustained high-intensity R&D investment has become a collective consensus among Zhuhai’s innovative enterprises.
The Code of Innovation: Breaking Technological Barriers in Niche Tracks
If strategic choices determine the direction, technological innovation determines how far one can go. The development path of Zhuhai’s “Little Giants” is essentially a journey to build independent and controllable technological advantages in highly segmented industrial tracks.
Stepping into the intelligent workshop of Zhuhai Huaguan Capacitor Co., Ltd., the hustle and bustle of traditional manufacturing is replaced by the low hum of precision instruments. Here, the production cycle of a single automotive-grade aluminum electrolytic capacitor has been shortened from 3 days to 3 hours. Behind this leap in efficiency is the seamless coordination of 13 automated production lines and AI inspection systems.
From competing fiercely in the “price red sea” of consumer capacitors to exploring the “value blue sea” of the high-end automotive market, similar stories of “technological breakthroughs” are unfolding simultaneously in multiple key industrial sectors across Zhuhai:
- Guiku Technology has conquered the silicon carbide silver sintering thermal bonding technology, achieving chip bonding with micron-level precision and filling a domestic gap;
- Chengfeng Technology has broken through the bottleneck technology in optical communication chip testing equipment, filling a critical gap for the localization of high-end domestic semiconductor equipment;
- Ziyan UAV has realized 100% independent R&D of core modules for industrial electric unmanned helicopters, laying a solid safety foundation for the low-altitude economy.
“A growing number of enterprises have begun to embed themselves in the core links of industrial chains. Some have taken the lead in niche markets, some have made breakthroughs in key materials and components, and many have exported their products overseas,” said Pan Helin, a member of the Expert Committee on Information and Communications Economics under the MIIT.
Wanhua Chemical (Guangdong) Co., Ltd., located in Zhuhai Economic and Technological Development Zone, was selected into the seventh batch of national-level SDSI “Little Giants” this year. Founded in 2013, the company focuses on the R&D and production of water-based surface material resins, modified MDI and polyurethane adhesives for composite films. Its products are widely used in coatings, synthetic leather, textiles, food packaging and other fields, continuously providing new materials and polyurethane system solutions with both cost competitiveness and technological innovation for South China and Southeast Asia.
Its development path clearly shows that professional barriers built through in-depth technological exploration can win more sustainable competitive advantages than scale expansion – this is one of the profound logics behind Zhuhai’s cultivation of “Little Giant” enterprises and its layout for the industrial future.
Ecosystem Empowerment: Evolution from Policy Incentives to Systematic Cultivation
The robust growth of “Little Giants” cannot be separated from favorable sunshine, rain and soil. Zhuhai’s support for enterprise development has evolved from one-off “policy incentives” to comprehensive and full-cycle “ecosystem empowerment”. The construction of this systematic project is reflected in three closely interlocking dimensions:
Three-dimensional cultivation system
In February 2023, Xiangzhou District built Guangdong’s first one-stop service platform dedicated to SDSI enterprises. In 2024, Zhuhai accelerated the implementation of the gradient cultivation initiative for high-quality enterprises, established a 2+N high-quality development alliance for SDSI enterprises, and launched the first parent and child funds for SDSI enterprises. At present, Zhuhai has formed a complete cultivation system and supporting services from municipal to district levels, covering comprehensive services and support in innovative technology assistance, financing services, policy consulting, digital transformation support, management consulting, entrepreneurship guidance, rights protection and talent training.
In-depth industrial collaboration
Since the start of this year, more than 80 industrial chain matching activities covering over 2,000 enterprise participations have been held, aiming to foster in-depth links for collaborative technological research and precise supply chain matching.
Precise financial support
Zhuhai’s innovative four-in-one platform integrating government, banks, guarantee institutions and enterprises has channeled over 11.1 billion yuan of financial resources to 585 SDSI enterprises in the first three quarters of 2025, accurately addressing the common dilemma of “asset-light and financing difficulties” faced by tech-based enterprises.
The Question of the Future: From “A Sky Full of Stars” to “Stars and Moon Shining Together”?
Building on the achievements of the 14th Five-Year Plan and facing the new journey of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the cultivation of Zhuhai’s “Little Giants” is confronted with a crucial upgrading challenge: how to move from the current encouraging situation of “a sky full of stars” to an industrial pattern of “stars and moon shining together”? While boasting a large number of high-quality SMEs, can Zhuhai nurture more “chain leader” enterprises with leading power in industrial chains?
The 10th Plenary Session of the 9th CPC Zhuhai Municipal Committee proposed to build a strong manufacturing city with high quality, focus on chain transformation and value extension, implement a series of projects including “industrial chain strengthening”, “enterprise peak climbing” and “digital and intelligent empowerment”, and drive the accelerated growth in the number of national-level champion enterprises in individual segments, SDSI “Little Giants” and listed enterprises. This means promoting the scale leap of individual enterprises and the energy level breakthrough of the industrial chain as a whole.
At present, challenges and opportunities coexist. The leap from “Little Giants” to “chain leaders” requires more precise growth guidance and smoother capital channels. Meanwhile, how to string the “pearls” scattered in various niche sectors into a more competitive industrial chain “necklace” also puts forward higher requirements for industrial organization capacity.
It is encouraging that among the new generation of “Little Giants”, enterprises in cutting-edge tracks such as unmanned boats and low-altitude economy have emerged, demonstrating Zhuhai’s keen insight in laying out future industries. For the 15th Five-Year Plan period, Zhuhai has proposed to strengthen institutional supply for new industrial tracks and promote the in-depth integration of “three news” – new industries, new technologies and new application scenarios. This indicates that the cultivation of new-quality productive forces will move towards a deeper construction of systematic ecosystems.
Amid the fierce regional industrial competition, Zhuhai has forged an innovative and solid path: converging the precise breakthroughs of numerous “Little Giants” into a sweeping transformation of the industrial system. Though these enterprises holding the key to industrial development may still be small in scale today, the dedication, innovation and resilience they represent are exactly Zhuhai’s confidence for the future.