Special Economic Zones (SEZs) of China are zones located in mainland China, given special economic policies and flexible governmental measures by the Chinese Government as part of the economic reform and open up policy. This allows SEZs to utilize an economic management system that does not exist in the rest of mainland China.

In the 1980s and 1990s, China established five special economic zones, opened 14 coastal cities and areas and designated open inland and coastal economic and technology development zones.

The five special economic zones are Shantou, Shenzhen, and Zhuhai in Guangdong Province and Xiamen in Fujian Province and the entire island province of Hainan. The 14 coastal cities to overseas investment are Dalian, Qinhuangdao, Tianjin, Yantai, Qingdao, Lianyungang, Nantong, Shanghai, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Zhanjiang, and Beihai.

As these open areas adopt different preferential policies and special managerial systems, they play an important role in developing the foreign-oriented economy, generating foreign exchanges through exporting products and importing advanced technologies as well as accelerating inland economic development.