The 53 state high-tech development zones in China have become the fastest growing part of the Chinese economy, dwarfing the country's economic growth rate of seven percent in 1999 by more than 20 percentage points.

Minister of Science and Technology Zhu Lilan told reporters Friday the total technological, industrial and trade revenue and industrial output generated by the 53 high-tech zones jumped by 35 and 30 percent last year to 656 billion yuan (80 billion U.S. dollars) and 566 billion yuan (69 billion U.S. dollars), respectively.

The figures show that the zones, which have been set up during the past decade to speed up commercialization of the country's high-tech achievements, have met the key economic development targets set by the central government for year 2000 a year ahead of schedule, the minister said.

Last year, the 17,900 enterprises in the zones across the country made a total profit of 35.6 billion yuan (43 billion U.S. dollars) and paid 27.5 billion yuan (3.3 billion U.S. dollars) in taxes, with combined export earnings reaching 10.6 billion U.S. dollars.

"With better facilities and favorable policies offered by central and local governments, these zones have become China's important centers for such high-tech industries as electronics, information technology, new material, biological engineering, new energy and environmental protection," Zhu said.

"Rapid development in the high-tech industry will continue to help optimize the country's economic restructuring and promote sustained, rapid and healthy economic development," she added.

In the Zhongguancun Science and Technological Development Zone in northwest Beijing, home to China's most prestigious universities and leading research organizations, high-tech industries accounted for 70 percent of the total newly-added value of the city's industrial output in 1999.

In Shenzhen, south China, high-tech products accounted for 40 percent of the boomtown's total industrial output, or 82 billion yuan (nearly 10 billion U.S. dollars) in 1999, up 25 percent over the previous year.

China has adopted a number of measures to encourage the development of high-tech zones during the past few years, including favorable treatment for investors, policies for use of venture capital, and income distribution reforms.