Imports and exports between Shenzhen, a key economic hub in southern China, and other economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) reached 2.14 trillion yuan (298.32 billion U.S. dollars) in the first 10 months of this year, according to the Shenzhen municipal customs authorities.

The figure marked a 4.5-percent increase over the same period last year.

Shenzhen's exports to other APEC economies hit 1.35 trillion yuan, up 11.1 percent year on year, while imports and exports with other APEC economies generated by private enterprises in Shenzhen rose 10.2 percent to 1.33 trillion yuan, ranking first among Chinese cities.

In a document published in August 2019, China said it would make Shenzhen a pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

By the middle of the 21st century, the city will become one of the top business cities in the world and a global pacesetter where competitiveness, innovative capacity and influence are to the fore, according to the document.

Shenzhen, a modern metropolis with a permanent population of over 17 million in south China's Guangdong Province, used to be a small fishing village before it embarked on a remarkable journey as China’s first special economic zone 40 years ago.

The city's GDP totaled 3.2 trillion yuan in 2022, in third place among China’s cities after Shanghai and Beijing.