Haimen: Progress and plans

Editor's note: Haimen city, a riverside and coastal county-level prefecture in Nantong city, Jiangsu province, recorded considerable achievements in 2014 both economically and socially, and is aiming higher this year, said Mayor Cao Yangming in his government work report on Jan 17. The following are the report's highlights.

Review of 2014

- Growing economy

Last year Haimen achieved GDP of 82 billion yuan ($13.1 billion), an increase of 10.3 percent year-on-year, and fiscal revenue of 16.2 billion yuan, up 15.5 percent.

The government invested 50.1 billion yuan on fixed assets, including 31.6 billion yuan in industrial projects. There were 74 new projects each with investment of more than 100 million yuan.

More than 100 local companies each achieved revenue of more than 100 million yuan. Four were listed in the national top 500 private companies.

The service sector contributed 32 billion yuan in GDP and attracted investment of 18.5 billion yuan, up 33.8 percent.

More than 3,000 hectares of high-standard farmland was developed and 10 local businesses were newly recognized as Nantong's leading agricultural companies.

A project for a countryside property trade center was launched.

- Upgraded industries

The 72 local high-tech companies generated added value of 82 billion yuan.

Fifty-four major science and technology research projects won combined government funds of 30 million yuan.

Thirty companies were involved in making and revising 85 national and international standards.

Four local trademarks were recognized as nationally well-known trademarks, along with 25 as provincially famous trademarks.

Import and export volume reached $2 billion. Twenty-four companies achieved import and export volume of more than $10 million each, 65 percent of which was focused on high technologies. Overseas labor service contracts worth $267 million were signed.

The Haimen Economic Development Zone attracted 15 projects from 10 centrally administrated State-owned enterprises.

The Dongzao area of Haimen port became a national first-class international port, handling 2.5 million tons of cargo last year.

The rural economy also saw robust growth in townships, each of which highlighted different industries.

- Better environment

The revised overall city plan was approved by the provincial government.

Twenty-one urban infrastructure projects were implemented, along with 42 gardening projects, leading to additional plantation-covered land of 876,600 square meters. More than 22 percent of the city was covered by forest.

A public bicycle system with investment of more than 10 million yuan was put into use.

More than 8,700 sq m of illegal buildings was torn down, as well as more than 600 unauthorized billboards.

Local law enforcement investigated and punished 62 companies for violating environmental laws, and shut down seven.

The government invested 1 billion yuan in 19 major transportation improvement projects.

- Improved livelihoods

Urban residents earned an average annual disposable income of 34,200 yuan, and people in the countryside earned 17,500 yuan, one of the highest levels in Nantong counties.

There were 13,500 new jobs created in Haimen's urban areas, with 5,300 people starting their own companies.

In the rural areas, 99.97 percent of people joined the cooperative medical service program.

Nearly 300 service centers were founded to provide home-based care for the elderly.

The city passed the provincial government's assessment of preschool education reforms. Local education facilities were improved, with 111,000 sq m of school buildings built or improved.

Two graduates from the local sports school won one gold and one silver medal at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

- Government services

The local government continued reforms, with 32 approval procedures trimmed or simplified. Ninety percent of administrative issues can be done in the government service center.

The government hotline 12345 handled more than 70,000 complaints, 95 percent of which were finished in a timely manner and received satisfied feedback.

A security monitoring system was installed in the rural area, leading to a 16.5 percent decrease in criminal cases.

Targets for 2015

The local government aims at 10-percent GDP growth and 17.8 billion yuan in fiscal revenue this year. The average disposable income for residents in both the urban and rural areas is expected to increase about 10 percent.

The service industries will account for 40 percent of GDP, and 2.5 percent of GDP will be invested in R&D.

The unemployment rate is expected to be controlled at lower than 3 percent in the urban area.

The government will take four measures to achieve its goals.

1. Transforming economy

- Optimizing structures

The government will continue optimizing local industrial structures. There will be 60 large-scale industrial companies this year.

It will pay more attention to emerging sectors, such as smart equipment, new energies and new materials, biomedicine and industrial robots. The revenues in those sectors will see at least an 11-percent increase.

More than half of the government investment in industries will go to technical improvements.

There will be 10 additional key agricultural companies leading Nantong.

The service industries will have investment of more than 22 billion yuan, with 80 major service providers to be founded.

The government will make plans for the service industries, highlighting sectors including modern logistics, tourism, e-business and technical services.

The total retail sales of consumer goods will reach 34 billion yuan.

- Improving platforms

Industry parks will play a crucial role in local economic development.

The Haimen Economic Development Zone will target becoming a provincial top 10 industry park, and focus on equipment manufacturing, auto parts, research outsourcing, software and logistics.

The Haimen Industrial Park will make efforts to build a world textile trade center and develop offshore financing, cross-border e-business and creative design. Its textile market will have total contracted value of more than 60 billion yuan.

The Linjiang New Area will focus on high-tech industries.

- resource integration

The government will integrate and optimize the deployment of all elements including capital, land and human resource.

There will be 725 new industrial and service projects that have attracted more than 10 million yuan of investment each.

The government will encourage vocational education. Some 5,000 skilled workers will be recruited.

2. Reforms and innovation

- Deepening reforms

The government will encourage the private sector to invest in domains including infrastructure, public affairs and financial services. It will introduce 20 projects that involve private capital of at least 100 million yuan each.

Livelihood expenditure will take 65 percent of the public budget.

Two or three financing institutions will be introduced to the city this year.

- Innovation

The city will attract three to five national leading universities to open R&D facilities, labs and commercialization centers.

The number of high-tech companies will increase to 100, generating output value of 92 billion yuan.

Local companies will file 800 invention patent applications, and the ownership of invention patents per 10,000 people will be at least 12.

More than 10 top professionals will be recruited to the city.

- Opening-up

The government will optimize the structure of foreign capital use, and attract international investment to the high-tech sectors, emerging businesses and modern service industries.

The industry and commerce authority will register $600 million of overseas investment, with at least $335 million to be delivered.

The total import and export volume will reach $2.4 billion.

The service outsourcing industry will have a 20-percent increase in annual delivery, with three to five new companies established in the business.

3. Integrated development

- City planning

The government will make a series of detailed plans for traffic, water and power supplies and plantation. It will launch 67 major projects that cover roadside plantation and infrastructure.

New commercial residence buildings covering total space of 1.5 million sq m will start construction, while 80 sq m will be on sale.

- Urbanization

Local authorities will optimize planning in rural areas, improving pollution treatment facilities, education, medical care and cultural services.

They will build or rebuild 120 km of roads in the countryside, along with 50 bridges. Fifteen new bus routes will open to connect four townships.

All villages will have annual revenue of at least 300,000 yuan.

- Environment

The city will have more than 1,700 hectares of additional forests, so that 24 percent of its total land will be covered with forest.

The government will build eco-friendly villages and industrial zones and green schools and residential communities.

The sewage network will have 180 km of new pipelines.

Thirty energy-saving and emission-reduction projects will be launched.

4. Improving livelihoods

- Social security

More than 10,000 new jobs will be provided this year, with 2,000 people starting companies. More than 3,000 unemployed people in urban areas will be reemployed.

The government will encourage locally born college graduates and skilled workers to return to Haimen.

Major social security programs will cover more than 98 percent of people.

Five nursing homes for the elderly will be built or expanded in rural areas. The government will also encourage private funds to invest in the business.

- Public services

Some 91,000 sq m of school buildings will be built or improved. More than 80 percent of schools will establish digital platforms.

Hospitals in the urban and rural areas will have staff exchanges.

Some 3,200 couples will enjoy free pregnancy checks.

Thirty major cultural projects will be started, with total investment of more than 10 million yuan. A number of museums and libraries will be built.

The cultural industries will contribute 5 percent to the local GDP.

- Safety

The local police force will have more practical training, and its enforcement will be better regulated.

The government will improve its emergency response mechanism, enabling it to interact with the systems of Nantong city and Jiangsu province.

It will do research on commonly-seen disputes in areas such as employment, medical service and the environment, expecting to resolve future issues before they grow into major problems.

In addition, the government will improve its functions based on the law.

It will optimize its online public services, hire legal consultants, increase its enforcement efficiency and improve transparency by publicizing information and answering the people's requests via multiple channels.

(China Daily 03/13/2015 page12)