Ningxia, Shenyang recognized as guest region, city of honor

The Ningxia Hui autonomous region in Northwest China and Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, are demonstrating their charm and beauty to global guests participating in the 2017 China International Fair For Investment and Trade.

Ningxia and Shenyang were appointed the guest region of honor and guest city of honor, respectively, at this year's CIFIT.

The autonomous region

Ningxia is making a name for itself in China, with its rich tourism resources, convenient traffic network, rapidly expanding emerging industries, strong power generation capacity and agricultural development potential.

The region is home to famous tourism sites including Liupanshan Mountain and 5A-level tourist destination Shapotou. China's first desert railway, the Baotou-Lanzhou railway, passes through Shapotou.

Ningxia is an important hub that connects many regions of China.

Yinchuan, the capital city, is located at the converging point of the Yabulai international air route, making it the best gateway to the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and Europe. The Yinchuan-Tehran cargo services, launched in early September, are expected to bring benefits to over 300 million people along the route.

The region has established a strong position in the biomedical industry. It is one of the key production bases for anti-bacteria crude drug and biological fermentation products in China.

About 60 percent of all erythromycin and 80 percent of all tetracycline hydrochloride in the world are produced in Ningxia.

The new energy industry is also seeing rapid growth in the region.

Ningxia has become a gathering place for new energy-related businesses, such as those involved in wind power.

Ningxia ranks No 1 in terms of power generation capacity in China.

The region is capable of generating 31.57 million kilowatts of power each year. Of this, 13 million kW are generated by wind power.

At its current stage, the region can supply 12 million kW of power to other regions in China each year.

Statistics from the local authorities show that about 40.9 percent of power in the region is generated from renewable energy, strongly supporting high-tech industries such as automotive, electronic information, new material, biomedical, and textile and apparel production.

Its excellent natural environment has become a key element supporting Ningxia's agricultural industry development. With more than 1 million hectares of farmland and 4 billion cubic meters of usable water annually, Ningxia is one of top 10 commodity grains production bases in China.

It is a key production center for rice, corn, potatoes, watermelons, dates and grapes for wine. Agriculture products produced in Ningxia are known for being pollution-free and safe.

The region has set a goal to be an investment destination for global businesses and has vowed to take measures to support business development in the region.

"Ningxia, a hub on the Silk Road, will follow global investment trends and speed up its Belt and Road pivot region construction project in the coming years," said He Zhengrong, general director of Ningxia's Department of Commerce.

"We will encourage businesses to seek expansion opportunities in overseas markets and attract international businesses to Ningxia, by hosting the China-Arab States Expo and promoting the construction of the inland opening-up pilot economic zone."

Liaoning's capital

Shenyang joined hands with four cities in Liaoning, Fushun, Benxi, Yingkou and Liaoyang, to demonstrate the Shenyang Economic Zone's investment opportunities, advantages and locally featured products to visitors.

The cities will all display their unique features to visitors at this year's CIFIT. The exhibition area covers 5,100 square meters and has become the largest area occupied by a guest city of honor and its partners in CIFIT history.

The Shenyang Economic Zone comprises eight cities in Liaoning. It is the first time that the cities in the zone have exhibited at CIFIT.

(China Daily 09/19/2017 page19)