BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- China's national high-tech industrial development zones have become major bases for startups valued at over 1 billion U.S. dollars, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The country's 178 national high-tech industrial development zones were home to approximately 67 percent of China's unicorn firms by the end of 2024, the ministry told a press conference on Wednesday.

These zones housed about one-third of the country's high-tech enterprises and 46 percent of its "little giant" firms, which refer to the novel elites among small and medium-sized enterprises that are engaged in manufacturing, specialize in a niche market and boast cutting-edge technologies.

Notably, these zones host approximately 60 percent of the country's publicly listed artificial intelligence (AI) companies and about half of its AI unicorns, the ministry said.

These zones registered steady economic growth last year, with their total gross domestic product up 7.6 percent year on year in nominal terms.

These high-tech zones also achieved fruitful results in opening-up and international cooperation, with total import and export volumes of goods and services hitting 9.5 trillion yuan, representing a 2.5 percent year-on-year growth.

To boost their technological and industrial innovation, the government will combine zone development with strategic national sci-tech resources, and step up its cultivation of gazelle and unicorn companies, according to ministry official Wu Jiaxi.■