Hunan business expertise on display at Astana Expo
Central China province offers knowledge of new energy, technology and other growth industries
Hunan’s business opportunities were displayed at a recent promotional event during the ongoing World Expo in Astana, Kazakhstan.
At the Hunan Week that opened on July 18, the Cent r a l C h i n a p r o v i n c e’s d e legation showed a range of features of Hunan, including local tourist attractions such as Zhang jiajie, Liangshan Mo u n t a i n s a n d D o n gt i n g Lake, local products including teas, ceramics and embroidery works, as well as industries with great growth potential.
New energy is the highlight at the Hunan Week, showing the future development trend of the energy industry in the province.
Hunan Week is a part of the China Pavilion activities during A s tana Expo 2017, which opened on June 10 and will last for 93 days.
China is the guest of honor at the exposition in Astana, the capital of Central Asia’s Kazakhstan — a major countr y related to the Belt and Road Initiative.
To d a t e , 2 4 p r o v i n c e s , municipalities and autonomous regions from China have taken part in the expo.
Through Hunan Week, the province aims to enhance cooperation with countries and regions related to the Belt and Road Initiative by showing its cultural and economic strength and business opportunities, according to a senior local leader.
Du Jiahao, Party chief of Hunan and chairman of the standing committee of the province’s People’s Congress — the local legislative body — said industrial cooperation is crucial in Hunan’s integration with the Belt and Road In i t i a t i v e a n d i t s o v e r a l l opening-up strategy.
“We encourage competent local enterprises to go global under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative through industrial capacity cooperation,” Du said.
When talking about industrial capacity cooperation, Du noted that the practice does not mean the transfer of outdated, surplus capacities or the exploitation of low-cost resources in other countries.
“We aim to forge win-win partnerships by sharing our advantages in some competitive industries,” Du said.
“On the other hand, the cooperation is by no means assistance free of charge. We should create mutual benefits with our par tners by observing market rules,” he added.
Competitive sectors
Hunan is competitive in such industries as machinery, food, nonferrous metals, electronics and information, light industries, building materials and construction machines, petrochemicals, electricity and medicines.
The new-energy industry, featuring solar, nuclear and wind power, high-efficiency electricity grid as well as newenerg y vehicles, has risen quickly in recent years, with many of the products and technologies reaching internationally advanced levels.
Hunan is also the birthplace of a number of cuttingedge technologies, including the globally renowned Tianhe supercomputer.
Developed by the Chinese National University of Defense Technology based in Changsha, the provincial capital, Tianhe is one of the few petascale supercomputers in the world.
He Jian, chairman of the Hunan Sub- Council of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, s a i d Hu n a n’s e n t e r p r i s e s should use the Astana Expo
We should create mutual benefits with our partners by observing market rules.” Du Jiahao, Party chief of Hunan and chairman of the standing committee of the province’s People’s Congress
to enhance cooperation with countries related to the Belt and Road Initiative.
For this purpose, Hunan will hold more activities in these countries following Hunan Week.
For instance, a match-making event for two-way investments will be held in Almaty, the largest city of Kazakhstan.
T he Hunan delegations will visit Russia, Belarus and Poland to hold a series of trade and investment promotional events.
According to He, companies from around the world are also welcome to do business in Hunan, which has business ties with more than 200 countries and regions.
According to the Hunan Bureau of Commerce, 140 multinational companies on the Fortune Global 500 list have invested in Hunan.
In addition to its sound industrial foundation, the province’s convenient transport also appeals to international investors.
Hunan had 6,080 kilometers of expressways by the end of 2016, ranking No 6 in China’s provincial-level administrative regions.
Changsha is a hub for high-speed railway traffic in Central China, with two of the nation’s trunk lines — the Beijing-Guangzhou and Shanghai-Kunming lines — meeting there.
Changsha Huanghua International Airport has connections with 119 domestic and foreign airpor ts. It ser ved more than 20 million passengers last year, ranking first among all the cities in Central China.
Oceangoing ships can arrive at Chengling ji Port in northern Hunan. It is one of the largest ports along the Yangtze River, with annual bulk cargo throughput surpassing 100 million metric tons in recent years.