Belt and Road a smart path for province's growth

Hunan's heavy industries are making innovative use of the latest technologies to sell products in and do deals with many foreign countries, Li Fusheng reports.

Hunan province in Central China is blazing a trail into surrounding countries with its smart manufacturing.

The provincial government has targeted countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road as places where Hunan-based companies can sell their high-technology products.

The Belt and Road Initiative was established in 2013, with the belt linking China with Europe through Central and western Asia, and the road connecting with Southeast Asian countries, Africa and Europe.

Based on the initiative, the Hunan provincial government promoted several action plans to assist local companies' efforts to go global, and smart manufacturing is a priority in the province's five-year (2016-20) plan.

Statistics from the province show that in the first six months of 2016, Hunan entrepreneurs established 16 companies in countries along the Belt and Road region, with combined investment reaching $497 million. Last year, 66 such companies were established and investment totaled $1.5 billion.

The province's exports, which used to be mainly clothing and building materials, now include high-end manufacturing products, rail transport equipment and electronic products.

"Smart manufacturing has become a highlight of Hunan's efforts to transform its economy and a new powerhouse of the province's economic development," said Xu Dazhe, acting governor of the province.

"Hunan will bring into full play the role of smart manufacturing in facilitating upgrades of traditional industries and promoting development of new industries, thus driving structural reform of conventional manufacturing."

Earlier this year, the Hunan government signed a framework agreement with the National Development and Reform Commission, which designated Hunan to initiate cooperation with Brazil and Nigeria in terms of production capacity.

Xu Xiangping, director of the provincial bureau of commerce, said Hunan companies were investing in mining, agriculture, new energy, engineering machinery and rail transport, especially in countries along the Belt and Road.

"A lot of competitive companies have set up overseas manufacturing facilities, research and development centers and resource prospection bases," he said."By the end of April, the number of Hunan companies involved in international capacity cooperation reached 470."

A report from the Hunan bureau of commerce about local companies' efforts to go global showed that the authorities had given approval to 1,276 companies to establish overseas subsidiaries by the end of August.

Their combined investment stood at $21.2 billion, ranking first among the provinces in Central China and 10th nationwide. The projects receiving investment were scattered in 86 countries and regions.

Hunan is home to a number of heavyweight companies in terms of smart manufacturing.

Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science and Technology Co signed a deal with Belarus on Sept 29 to conduct extensive cooperation in engineering, and agricultural and sanitary machinery.

Zhan Chunxin, chairman of Zoomlion, said going global is a key way to solve overcapacity in China's engineering machinery industry.

Xu, director of the Hunan bureau of commerce, said:"Of 64 countries along the Belt and Road, 70 percent rely on imports to meet their demand for steel. This offers us a historic opportunity to go overseas."

Tidfore Heavy Industry, in collaboration with Wuhan Iron and Steel Group, is building a plant in Liberia that will be able to produce 500,000 tons of steel products a year.

Sany Group, a leading global engineering machinery maker, saw its overseas business grow by 25 percent year-on-year in 2015, with machinery sold to the Belt and Road region accounting for more than 70 percent of its overseas sales.

It has built plants and R&D centers in many countries, including Turkey, Russia, Belgium, Germany and India.

Broad Homes Industrial International Co has set up a plant in Nigeria to meet local demand for local middle-end housing. It has also held talks with developers and government departments in Russia, Ukraine, Brazil, Poland and Saudi Arabia.

Jiang Jie, president of Broad Homes, said the company will accelerate its entry into the construction market in South America, especially in the Caribbean.

The CRRC Zhuzhou Locomotive Co, which is winning orders and acclaim for its bullet trains, has recently finished development of a mid and low-speed maglev railway.

Luo Chongfu, deputy general manager of the company, said such a railway has been in operation in Changsha, capital of Hunan province. It is the first in China and the third worldwide.

The company's chairman, Zhou Qinghe, said one-third of its operating revenue in 2015 came from overseas projects, most of them in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, Africa and Europe. In 2015, the institute sold its electric locomotives to 70 countries and regions, seizing 27 percent market share worldwide.

Farsoon High-Technology Co is making rapid progress in 3-D printing. It has printed a racing car this year, the first of its kind in China.

Aurora SA60L, a two-seat aircraft from Sunward Science and Technology Co, was the first China-made light sport aircraft to obtain certification from the China Civil Aviation Administration.

Based on such a solid industrial foundation, local authorities expect Hunan province to have built around 20 creative industrial bases by the end of 2020, and each of its 12 pillar industries will see their output grow by 12 percent year-on-year.

Contact the writer at lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 11/18/2016 page11)