China Daily - 30.07.2019

YEARS ON HUNAN

CHINA DAILY Tuesday, July 30, 2019 | 7

The Autonomous Rail Rapid Transit system, the world’s first driverless rapid bus, on a test run in Zhuzhou, Hunan province, in October 2017. The system was developed by
CRRC Zhuzhou Institute.PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

New member of ‘3 trillion club’

aims to soar higher on global stage

Building on its traditional manufacturing strengths by nurturing high-tech industries,

the province is spearheading the ‘Made in China’ blueprint

By CAI HONG
[email protected]

Earlier this year, China’s major
train manufacturer, CRRC Zhuzhou
Locomotive, tested a new genera-
tion maglev train to see if it could
reach its projected top speed of 160
kilometers per hour, about 60 per-
cent faster than the current model.
The new medium-speed model,
which was tested in Changsha, Hu-
nan province, has 30 percent more
traction and can carry an additional 6
metric tons, compared with the previ-
ous generation, said Tong Laisheng,
head of the maglev research institute
of CRRC Zhuzhou.
China’s first medium-low-speed
maglev rail line started commercial
operation in Changsha in May 2016.
The new model is expected to lay the
foundation for the introduction of
medium-speed maglev train sys-
tems, Tong said.
CRRC Zhuzhou is also developing
a more advanced maglev model
with a top speed of 200 km/h.
Hunan, where CRRC Zhuzhou
Locomotive is headquartered,
rolled out an innovation-driven
strategy in 2016, but is now aiming
for even faster growth.
Once a less-developed province
with a population of nearly 70 mil-
lion, it is now spearheading the
“Made in China” blueprint and striv-
ing to establish an integrated intelli-
gent manufacturing center.
Hunan’s strategy is to upgrade
traditional industries with state-of-
the-art technology while nurturing
new economy enterprises, such as
5G telecoms, the internet of things,
3D printing and robotics.
Du Jiahao, secretary of the pro-
vincial committee of the Commu-
nist Party of China, calls innovation
and opening-up the “two wings”
that can help Hunan’s economy
soar. “As a province in central China,
Hunan has its traditional advantage
in manufacturing,” Du said. “But in
recent years our engineering
machinery, electronic information,
biopharmaceutical, new energy and
new equipment have also seen nota-
ble growth.”
Du added that the moment is ripe
for the province to make the shift.
Hunan joined the “3 trillion” club
in 2017 after its GDP hit nearly 3.
trillion yuan ($502 billion) — the
ninth-largest regional economy in
China, according to the Internation-
al Monetary Fund.

Its GDP grew to 3.64 trillion yuan

last year, according to the provincial

authorities.

The province is home to eight

national high-tech zones and a host

of technology companies, such as

Zoomlion, CRRC Zhuzhou and

Hunan Boyun New Materials. The

added value of high-tech industries

in Hunan reached 846.8 billion

yuan last year, up 14 percent from

2017.

Hunan is aiming for a GDP

growth rate of 7.5 percent to 8 per-

cent this year.

Delivering his work report at the

annual session of the provincial peo-

ple’s congress in January, Hunan

Governor Xu Dazhe said the pro-

vince wants to accelerate the growth

of new and promising industries —

such as biological medicine and

energy conservation — and also

press for upgrades in traditional

industries such as steel, construc-

tion and food processing.

Its 2019 development plan also

includes adding 1,000 high-tech

enterprises.

Xu said the tech-savvy approach

has helped energize the province’s

manufacturing industry and put it

on the path to high-quality develop-

ment.

“The Hunan government has

enacted a series of measures to pro-

mote the use of technology in tradi-

tional industries. Going forward, we

will put more effort into the better-

ment of industrial chains in sectors

like vehicle manufacturing, steel,

nonferrous metals and others,” Xu

said.

In recent years, Hunan has made

great efforts to encourage innova-

tion in industrial development. It is

the birthplace of many high-tech,

innovative products that count

among the world’s best. These

include the fastest electric train

traction system, the longest con-

crete pump, the strongest crawler

crane, the most powerful six-axle

electric locomotive and Tianhe-1,

the world’s fastest supercomputer.

More than 100,000 companies in

Hunan had adopted cloud comput-

ing technologies by the end of last

year, while nearly 1,000 internet

companies were incubated in the

province’s 90 big-data industrial

parks. In addition, Hunan has also

launched a test zone for connected

intelligent vehicles.

Emerging tech

Electric vehicle manufacturing is

already one of the largest industries

in the province, which has

embraced the use of emerging tech-

nologies so much that Hunan

accounts for over 20 percent of glob-

al production. There are 13 new

energy vehicle manufacturers in the

province, with annual output

exceeding 50,000 units.

Like other parts of China, Hunan

has a “go global” strategy.

Hunan’s technology enterprises

and universities signed nine invest-

ment projects with their Hong

Kong partners in April.

“We hope to work closely with

Hong Kong and other cities in the

Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao

Greater Bay Area in the fields of

technology and innovation, resour-

ces, projects, talent and platforms,”

said Luo Jianjun, counsel of the

General Office of the People’s Gov-

ernment of Hunan Province.

Xu, the governor, said the prov-

ince is striving to build a world-

class industrial cluster, improve the

level of intelligent manufacturing

and enhance the competitiveness of

enterprises. “We invite leading

enterprises in construction equip-

ment and key components to invest

and develop in Hunan so that we

can jointly overcome core techno-

logical difficulties and explore the

international market,” Xu said.

At the Hunan-UK Future Innova-

tion Summit in Changsha in March,

Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassa-

dor to the United Kingdom, said a

growing number of companies from

Hunan are exploring opportunities

for more cooperation with the UK in

science, technology and innovation.

The CRRC Zhuzhou Institute has

established research and develop-

ment centers for semiconductor

and electric drive technology in the

UK, according to Liu.

He said Xiangtan Electric Manu-

facturing is working with Garrad

Hassan and Partners on the develop-

ment of direct-drive turbines for

low-speed wind conditions.

Luo Shuangfeng, deputy director

of the provincial Commerce

Department, said Hunan has pro-

duced more competitive products

in recent years after industrial

restructuring.

Meanwhile, a batch of high-tech

enterprises that chose to set up

branches in Hunan has brought

new impetus to the province’s for-

eign trade growth. The import and

export volume of Hunan province

surpassed 310 billion yuan last year,

a year-on-year increase of over 28

percent, according to Commerce

Department data.

Private enterprises played a big

role in the province’s foreign trade,

accounting for 68.1 percent of the

total volume, up 1.1 percentage

points compared with 2017.

The growth can be attributed to

an improved trade structure and

foreign trade environment, and

cooperation with countries

involved in the Belt and Road Initia-

tive routes, Luo said.

Zhou Dunyi, a philosopher who

lived in Hunan 1,000 years ago, said

that knowing the trends of the

times leads to success.

“In today’s world, innovation is

the way to development, and coop-

eration can lead to win-win results.

This is the irreversible trend,” Liu,

the ambassador, said.

Hunan is leaping ahead with the

times.

Birthplace

of China’s

brightest

and bravest

By CAI HONG

“When the provinces of Hunan

and Hubei have bumper harvests,

there is enough food for the whole

country,” a Chinese saying goes.

Hunan, an inland province in

central China, is a land of plenty. It

is also the birthplace of some of

China’s greatest thinkers, scien-

tists, military strategists and politi-

cal leaders.

Wei Yuan (1794-1856), born in

Shaoyang, Hunan, was the first

Chinese scholar in modern times

to open his mind to the outside

world. He compiled one of the

first Chinese scholarly works on

Western technological advances.

In his Illustrated Treatise on Sea

Powers, Wei began to look at what

could be learned from Western

seafaring nations.

As historian Matthew Mosca

argues in his book From Frontier

Policy to Foreign Policy: The

Question of India and the Trans-

formation of Geopolitics in Qing

China, through his innovative

approach, “Wei was able to devise

an overarching ‘foreign policy’, a

program of action connecting all

corners of the Qing realm (1644-

1911) from the Pacific to Central

Asia.”

His scholarly work had a pro-

found influence on the reformers

that followed him.

Zeng Guofan (1811-1872), also a

Hunan native, was a top military

commander in the Qing Dynasty.

He is known for raising and orga-

nizing the Xiang Army to assist

the Qing military in suppressing

the Taiping Rebellion, a revolt

against the Qing.

Zeng was a pioneer in foreign

affairs, making the development

of foreign weapons a priority. In

1861, he built an ordnance factory

in Anqing, Anhui province, to

pilot the production of foreign

guns, cannons and ships.

Chairman Mao Zedong was

born in 1893 in Shaoshan, which

has become one of the country’s

most popular tourist spots.

Mao, who spent his childhood

in Shaoshan, went on to join and

lead the Communist Party of Chi-

na, and play a central role in the

founding of the People’s Republic

of China in 1949.

After Mao died in 1976, his

former residence in Shaoshan

was opened to the public and

became a major tourist destina-

tion.

Yuan Longping, born in Qing-

yang in 1930, is an agriculturalist

who devoted himself to agricul-

tural education and research aft-

er graduating from college.

He was the first person in the

world to develop a hybrid rice

strain, and his research achieve-

ments in developing higher rice

yields helped provide a solution

to worldwide hunger and starva-

tion.

He has received many interna-

tional awards, including the

Gold Medal Award for the Out-

standing Inventor of the UN

World Intellectual Property

Organization and UNESCO’s Sci-

ence Prize.

Yuan and his team successfully

developed technologies for pro-

ducing indica (long-grained non-

glutinous) rice, helping China

become the world’s leading rice

producer.

For this achievement, Yuan

was dubbed the “Father of

Hybrid Rice”.

In 1979, the technique for pro-

ducing hybrid rice was intro-

duced to the United States, the

first case of intellectual property

rights transfer in the history of

New China.

Yuan Longping is dubbed the

“Father of Hybrid Rice”.

Editor's Note: As the People’s Republic of China prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary on Oct 1, China Daily is featuring a series of stories on the role regions have played in the country’s development and where they are today.

Hunan

Changsha

Area: 211,800 square kilometers

Source: Hunan Provincial Government

GDP

Unit: billion yuan

3,642.

($529.56 billion)

(^2018) 1,305.
2009
302.
1998
14.
1978
2.
1952
MUKESH MOHANAN / CHINA DAILY
Annual per capita disposable
income of urban residents
Unit: yuan
Annual per capita disposable
income of rural residents
Unit: yuan
33.
54.
65.
68.
64.
1953
1982
2000
2010
2018
Population
Unit: million
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
0
3000
6000
9000
12000
15000
5,
1998
7, 6 7 4
2003
13,
2008
26,
2014
36,
($5,335)
2018
2,
1998
2,
2003
4,
2008
10,
2014
14,
($2,049)
2018