The Quzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone in East China's Zhejiang province ranks 65th on the 2019 list of the Top 100 State-level Economic and Technological Development Zones. [Photo/qz96811.com]

The Quzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone in East China's Zhejiang province was named among the top 100 State-level economic and technological development zones in China in 2019, local media reported on March 17.

The Quzhou zone placed 65th among 218 zones, 52 places higher than in 2018, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

Candidates were evaluated based on their industrial foundation, scientific and technological innovation capabilities, regional economic growth, environmental protection, and administrative services.

Founded in 1992, the Quzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone was approved as a provincial-level economic development zone in 1993 and was upgraded to state-level in 2011.

In 2012, it merged with the Quzhou Green Industry Cluster and the Quzhou High-Tech Industrial Development Zone, making it the only State-level economic development zone in China with complete industrial chains for fluorine, silicon, and cobalt.

In 2019, the gross regional GDP of the zone reached 29.4 billion yuan ($4.19 billion), and its total exports stood at 9.44 billion yuan.

The number of companies in the zone grew by 23.1 percent that same year.

Most of the companies, 145 in total, in the zone are high-tech companies, and the number of companies in the zone identified by the international environmental management system ISO14000 was 155, twice the national average.

In 2019, the zone introduced 41 projects receiving more than 11.4 billion yuan ($1.63 billion) in investment, including three projects worth over one billion yuan.

The zone also ranked 16th on the 2019 list of the Top 30 Chemical Industrial Parks in China released by the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Association.