Hebei positioned at forefront of high-quality development
Province leading way in pursuing China’s
To bolster the development of new quality productive forces and build advanced industrial systems, Hebei province is ramping up efforts to integrate into the new development pattern of China’s modernization with local characteristics.
With this year marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Ni Yuefeng, secretary of the Hebei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, noted that as the region surrounding the national capital, “Hebei will inject new vitality into high-quality economic and social development and continue to make remarkable achievements in the new era.”
“We are striving to blaze new trails in boosting innovationdriven growth while taking more responsibilities in advancing the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the high-standard, high-quality construction of the Xiong’an New Area,” added Ni. “We are achieving breakthroughs in comprehensive green transformation, cultivating core strengths in deepening reform and opening-up, and promoting common prosperity through new achievements.
“We will comprehensively fulfill the annual economic and social development tasks, continuously create new situations in various undertakings, and make greater contributions to the comprehensive advancement of China’s modernization and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”
During a recent visit to the HBIS-POSCO automotive steel sheet project, a joint venture between Shijiazhuang-based HBIS Group, one of the largest steelmakers and integrated service providers in China, and South Korean steelmaker POSCO, Ni expressed the need to fully leverage the province’s unique advantages, empower advanced manufacturing, ensure major technological upgrades and promote large-scale equipment renewal to propel the high-end, intelligent and green development of the manufacturing industry.
The project, which was completed and put into operation in Hebei’s Tangshan city last October, utilizes a high-strength ultra-thin automotive steel sheet production process that significantly reduces the weight of car body while extending the service life of the body and components, achieving energy saving and carbon reduction from a whole-lifecircle perspective.
“We must firmly grasp the major national strategy of coordinated development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, strengthen collaborative innovation and industrial cooperation, vigorously boost the deep integration of sci-tech and industrial innovation, and foster emerging industries such as new energy, new materials and robotics in a targeted manner,” Ni said.
Concurrently with those efforts, he stressed Hebei must create an environment that encourages innovation and tolerates failure, and gather innovative elements and high-end talents, thus stimulating the enthusiasm of all types of professionals for innovation and entrepreneurship. “As well, it is necessary to further optimize the business environment, attract more investments, launch key projects, accelerate the pace of economic and social development, and make greater contributions to the overall situation of the province,” Ni noted.
In mid-April, during a visit to Serbia with a Hebei provincial delegation, Ni said the province strongly supports the high-quality development of HBIS Group Serbia Iron & Steel — the Chinese-acquired overseas fully integrated steel enterprise on the site of the former Smederevo Steel Plant in eastern Serbia — and promotes the improvement of energy utilization efficiency while driving the extension of the industry chain to the material level.
“We will deepen exchanges with other provinces, enhance cooperation in fields such as economy, trade, agriculture, scitech, culture and sports, and join hands to stimulate development,” Ni said. “We will serve and integrate into the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, enhance the role of the China-Europe freight trains, facilitate smooth logistics channels, share development opportunities and achieve mutual benefits and win-win results.”
Meanwhile, Tangshan is pushing toward the transformation and upgrading of 26 characteristic industrial clusters, including rail transits and robotics, in accordance with local conditions, thereby helping form new quality productive forces.
This year’s government work report for Tangshan proposes to add more than 100 new robotics companies and establish a research institute focusing on the robotics industry to boost technology transfer. The report also emphasizes implementation of the “Robotics-plus” initiative, expanding typical scenarios in 10 major areas including manufacturing, trade, logistics, and safety and emergency response.
The vibrant biopharmaceutical industry has attracted numerous innovative talents to settle in Shijiazhuang, capital city of Hebei. By the end of 2023, Shijiazhuang had a total of 1,299 biopharmaceutical companies, whose revenue accounted for more than 60 percent of the province’s total in the biopharmaceutical sector. Hebei has focused on building and utilizing innovation platforms such as the Shijiazhuang International Biomedical Park, effectively enhancing the independent innovation capabilities of the biopharmaceutical industry through national key laboratories built by companies such as Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical Group and Yiling Pharmaceutical.
Hebei, which is home to some coastal regions, also transforms and upgrades ports, integrating resources and accelerating construction of reserve bases for strategic materials. Tangshan
Hebei will inject new vitality into the highquality economic and social development and continue to make remarkable achievements in the new era.”
Ni Yuefeng, secretary of the Hebei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China
Port’s cargo throughput ranks second in the world, with 152 productive berths already built, connecting to more than 80 countries and regions and over 200 ports. In 2023, Huanghua Port in Hebei’s Cangzhou city achieved a cumulative cargo throughput of 330 million metric tons, a year-on-year increase of 4.99 percent, marking the fourth consecutive year its cargo throughput exceeded 300 million tons.