Huai'an City in Jiangsu Province started the reform and opening up in September 1978, when the former Dianhu Production Brigade in Sihong County, Huaiyin District decided to parcel out their village land to individual households.
Over the past 40 years, Huai'an has kept enhancing its comprehensive strength. The regional GDP has increased from 1.209 billion yuan in 1978 to 332.888 billion yuan in 2017, an increase of 274 times. In 2017, the per capita GDP exceeded 10,000 US dollars.
Yao Xiaodong, secretary of the CPC Huai'an Committee, said that Huai'an is in a critical period to overcome the main difficulties, rise in the Yangtze and Huaihe rivers, and realize the dream of regaining its past glory.
With the aim to write a new chapter in the new era, Huai'an will focus its development paths on four directions - innovation-driven, characteristic, green growth, and people-first.
Huai'an is a pioneer in pilot reforms
In November 2018, the General Office of the State Council commended Huai'an's experience in building the digital joint approval system for project construction drawings, which is China's first in the sector and reduces the approval time from at least 85 working days to seven.
Huai'an Mayor Cai Lixin said the city has piloted 51 reform measures now incorporated into provincial and national initiatives. The reform has greatly inspired innovation and entrepreneurship in Huai'an. In the past five years, the average annual growth rate of private enterprises and industrial and commercial proprietorship reached 15 percent and 17 percent respectively, with a total of 410,000 market players active in the city.
Huai'an building influential industry benchmark
Before the 1990s, Huai'an was a city dominated by agriculture. In the 21st century, the city has advanced towards high-end, featured, large-scale and green economy. The industry has moved from the mid-to-low end to the mid-to-high end, with the industrial structure continuously optimized and upgraded. In 1991, the added value of the secondary industry in the city exceeded the first industry for the first time. In 2015, the added value of the tertiary industry exceeded the secondary industry for the first time, marking the start of Huai'an economy at a fresh, new stage.
The first made-in-Huai'an pure electric vehicle was unveiled on November 2, 2018, symbolizing a new era of Huai'an industrial development. Huai'an aims to expand the output of its new energy auto industry to 100 billion yuan, with Min An Auto as the industry leader.
Since 2013, Huai'an has focused on developing industry, service industry and agriculture, and also actively launched projects to develop key enterprises that have become industrial benchmarks in the province and even the country. The growing number of manufacturing enterprises, which adopt green, low-carbon and advanced technologies, have settled down in Huai'an, forming the "new engine" to drive Huai'an's sustainable development.
Innovation drives Huai'an's high-quality growth
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Huai'an has adhered to the strategy of innovation-driven and high-quality growth amid the economic transformation. The output value of high-tech industries has increased year by year, and the contribution rate of science and technology has reached 55 percent. More than 1,000 enterprises have undergone technological upgrades. A total of 71 firms have been included in new high-tech enterprises at the national level.
Huang Keqing, director of Huai'an Development and Reform Commission, said the city has seized the major opportunities in a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, established an innovative incentive mechanism, and supported enterprises to build high-level research and development institutions. Huai'an aims to cultivate a total of more than 400 national high-tech enterprises by 2020, covering all its characteristic industries.
Source:jschina.com.cn