From technical experts and foreign investors to tourists, Hebei Province is trying to draw in a diverse crowd to fuel its development, encourage growth and establish itself as a major hub for trade and new technologies across Asia and eventually the world.
From technical experts and foreign investors to tourists, Hebei Province is trying to draw in a diverse crowd to fuel its development, encourage growth and establish itself as a major hub for trade and new technologies across Asia and eventually the world. The province is set to switch economic gears from one based on resource-intensive industries to a more hi-tech and eco-friendly model.
The plan is to turn the northeast portion of Hebei Province on the Bohai Sea into a base for modern industry, hi-tech innovation and culture. The coastal development plan recently got the go-ahead from the State Council.
As part of the provincial government's efforts, Hebei will concentrate on expanding iron and steel production, heavy equipment manufacturing, modern logistics, electronic information and tourism in the region, known as the Bohai Rim Economic Circle.
Northeast Hebei has also started absorbing heavy industries from Beijing and Tianjin to alleviate environmental pressures affecting the two municipalities. The moves will allow the businesses and their outdated industrial practices to embrace more green approaches to production and distribution.
Preferential policies have also been put in place in Tangshan and Qinhuangdao to entice heavy industries and hi-tech firms to open new installations along coastal Hebei.
Two hours east of Beijing, the blast furnaces of Tangshan smelt at close to full capacity. The gritty industrial town, widely considered the cradle of China's modern industry, produced about 70 million tons of steel in 2010, approximately one tenth of China's total output, according to the Steel Guru, a website that monitors international iron and steel markets.
Tangshan steel is used in everything from heavy machinery and infrastructure projects to apartments and office buildings.
For most of its history as an industrial boom town, Tangshan has followed a resource-based industrial model, relying almost entirely on its 4.9 billion tons of coal reserves to fuel the steel mills and drive the local economy. The result has been heavy pollution and a deteriorating environment, according to a recent publication from the press office of the Tangshan Municipal Government.
With Tangshan's heavy industries anxious to go global and as a means of embracing sustainable development, the industrial center is looking to the Bohai Sea where a new city is taking shape.
Advertised as an eco-city utilizing the very latest green technology, Caofeidian, just in south of Tangshan, will be the spearhead for Tangshan's and northeast Hebei's, green development trend.
After moving out of Beijing for environmental reasons, Shougang Jingtang United Iron and Steel set up shop in Caofeidian. Operations at the new site officially opened in 2009. Today, Shougang produces 9.7 million tons of steel a year, 1.5 million more than it did under the jurisdiction of the Chinese capital.
Shougang's move is quickly becoming the norm, with steel mills relocating to China's coastal areas as inland water supplies dwindle and pollution in urban centers becomes intolerable. The steel-making process also consumes large amounts of water, providing further justification to establish a presence by the sea, said Ma Xiao, Vice Director of Publicity Department for Shougang.
"Our new steel making processes reduce dust and leave the skies clearer," Ma said. "And one third of the technology we use has been developed internally by the corporation itself."
Shougang's Caofeidian facility makes it easy for raw materials from Australia and Brazil to reach the steel plant and even easier for the company to ship its products out to other parts of China and Asia, Ma said.
Construction of Caofeidian began in 2003 as an integral economic area in China's 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10). The area will develop from a modern harbor into a district and then eventually a city. It will also serve as a demonstration base for China's recycling economy, said Wang Yujun from Tangshan Caofeidian Shiye Port Co. Ltd.
"Our steel mill recycles waste from one part of the steel making process and uses it in others," Ma said. "Almost 94 percent of our electricity is produced by the mill itself. We're also using desalinization techniques to use seawater in the steel-making process."
Today, there are 20 factories or manufacturing facilities operating in Caofeidian, with three more under construction. As of 2011, the industrial area created 80,000 jobs. By 2020, that figure is expected to reach 400,000, the population of a medium-sized city, Wang said.
As far as the city portion of the plan goes, Caofeidian is still a massive construction site, with half finished or vacant buildings lining the streets. Most staff commute from Tangshan or live in temporary housing near the docks, said Ma.
The city has solar powered light posts and energy efficient lighting. Buildings also use less energy and have low emissions, said Cai Junju, an official from the administrative committee of the Tangshan Caofeidian Industry Zone.
Li Lin, sales manager for Qinhuangdao-based Contec Medical Systems, walks confidently around an exhibition area for the company's inventory of medical gadgets. From touch-screen heart monitors and advanced ultrasound scanners to handheld ECG devices, Contec boasts a hi-tech arsenal of equipment for hospitals and clinics.
All Contec's products are domestically designed and manufactured.
While Contec mainly serves Chinese hospitals, the company has established an international clientele list, with buyers in over 130 countries, Li said.
The company, founded in 1992, is one of many hi-tech enterprises enjoying preferential policies and a surge in sales as Qinhuangdao focuses on attracting private companies from home and abroad to boost the area's profile as a center for hi-tech, said Fu Chunyuan, Vice President of Contec.
Aside from Contec, 103 hi-tech enterprises call Qinhuangdao's Economy and Technology Development Park home. Multinationals from the United States, Japan and Korea have production facilities or R&D centers in the park.
Tianye Tolian Heavy Industry is also enjoying a surge in sales, bringing in 1.1 billion yuan ($174.6 million) in revenue in 2010. Its plant in Qinhuangdao ships heavy machinery to Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Tolian, which specializes in a special line of construction vehicles and machinery, has been the dominant player in bridge building in China, especially as the country enjoys a massive infrastructure construction boom, said Zhu Xinsheng, President of Tolian.
Tolian's tunnel-boring technology is also in hot demand as 33 cities across China plan to build elaborate subway networks to link their burgeoning populations.
South of Qinhuangdao, in Beidaihe, an information technology park will employ 5,000 engineers, computer programmers and project managers when it opens in 2014. The info-tech park will create computer programs, cartoons and movies as part of China's effort to mass produce culture and broaden its soft power influence.
"We want to make it into the Silicon Valley of north China," said Li Ruixue, head of Beidaihe's Publicity Department. "Like Zhongguancun in Beijing, we want to attract big clients and companies."
Like Tangshan, Luanxian, a county between Tangshan and Qinhuangdao, relies on resource-guzzling heavy industries as its main economic driving force. Now the county is trying to add a second pillar to support the local economy: cultural tourism (For details, please see page 40-41) .
Luanxian faces a number of challenges—a lack of modern infrastructure and popular recognition among them—in making its ambitious plan to stimulate local tourism a reality. The most obvious obstacle is its location. Stuck between Beijing and Qinhuangdao, Luanxian can never hope to compete with the cultural and historic landmarks of the Chinese capital or the pristine beaches and relaxing atmosphere of the northern port city. For the time being, Luanxian will focus on attracting urbanites in need of a relaxing break from city life or tourists en route to other destinations to its ancient city and surrounding attractions, said Lu Hongqiu, Secretary of the CPC Committee of Luanxian County.
Luanxian's long-term goal, Lu said, is to turn Luanxian into a truly modern city connected with the rest of the world.
"We want to make Luanxian a true international tourist city," Lu said. "We'll have to first invite foreign investors and form foreign partnerships before we can start drawing foreign tourists."
These incredible aspirations for global recognition and prosperity are what will drive the province, the Bohai Sea economic zone and ultimately China, into a new era of economic growth. From industrial Tangshan and the promising port of Caofeidian to hi-tech Qinhuangdao and Luanxian's fledgling tourist industry, northeast Hebei is transforming itself to meet the demands of modern China. While today it may only be a major center of industry and innovation in China, tomorrow it could be a similar base for the rest of the world.