Opinion: How Zhejiang’s Private Economy Paved Way to Achieve ‘Common Prosperity’

In June 2021, the central government designated Zhejiang as the first — and currently the only — High-Quality Development and Common Prosperity Demonstration Zone in China. Earning such a lofty title required substantial capital, confidence and achieving “common prosperity, which starts by what is called “enlarging the cake.”

It was not something that was preordained. Indeed, during the initial stages of the nation’s reform and opening-up, Zhejiang was only a middling province in terms of development, ranking 12th in terms of total GDP and 14th in per capita GDP.