Hebei advances innovation-driven economy

More technological and innovative projects will be launched in Xiong'an New Area in Hebei province, as it welcomes top talent, universities, tech companies and investment from Beijing and Tianjin, officials said at a news conference in Beijing on Monday.

The aim is to promote an innovation-driven economy, they said.

Xiong'an, which is only 50 minutes away from the capital by high-speed rail, was designed to take over Beijing's noncapital functions. Now, seven years after it was established, Xiong'an is moving forward on high-tech development and the collaborative innovation of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

"Xiong'an New Area has progressed from nothing to something, from a blueprint to reality. With every step and every year, we are striving to advance toward the goal of building a high-level modernized city," said Wang Zhengpu, governor of Hebei.

Four central State-owned enterprises — China Satellite Network Group, Sinochem Group, China Huaneng Group and China Mineral Resources Group — are moving their headquarters to Xiong'an. In addition, domestic companies such as Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, JD, State Power Investment Corp, China Mobile and China Telecom and Japanese company Hitachi have set up offices in the new area.

Four universities, including the University of Science and Technology Beijing and Beijing Forestry University, are building campuses there.

Xiong'an currently focuses on seven innovative areas, such as satellite internet, the Beidou Navigation Satellite System, the intelligent network sector and Harmony OS, which is Huawei's self-developed operating system.

In addition, China Mobile released its new vessel management and emergency response applications for Baiyangdian Lake in Xiong'an, using high-precision positioning with 5G and Beidou, last week.

The system includes boat scheduling, electronic nautical charts and drone inspections, enabling services such as water area mapping, vessel operations monitoring and dynamic visualization of docks. It aims to better ensure navigational safety, enhance navigational efficiency and reduce water-related accidents, according to the company.

Zhao Dachun, vice-governor of Hebei: "We are committed to building Xiong'an as a leading area for innovation-driven development, and have introduced 18 substantial incentive policies … infusing the air in Xiong'an with an atmosphere of innovation."

The Zhongguancun Science Park in Xiong'an has attracted 70 companies in high-tech industries since opening in August. It has organized salons, fairs and road shows covering artificial intelligence, technological financing, life science and other cutting-edge areas, to attract more entrepreneurs.

Hebei is making efforts to encourage more application in the province of research and development achievements from Beijing and Tianjin, and is enhancing cooperation in basic research with the two cities, Zhao said.

The turnover in Hebei of technology contracts from Beijing and Tianjin reached 81 billion yuan ($11.2 billion) last year, which was double the figure of the previous year and 12 times that of 2014, he added.

Hebei's GDP grew 5.6 percent in the first quarter of this year, with investment in high-tech industry increasing 45.1 percent, data from local authorities showed. Traditional industries are also becoming more high-end, intelligent and green.

HBIS Group Zhangxuan Technology in Zhangjiakou, Hebei, became the first in the world to realize green steelmaking by using hydrogen from coke oven gas, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 800,000 metric tons per year, according to Li Lijie, an engineer at the company, who said there was "zero pollution throughout the entire process".

Vice-Governor Zhao said Hebei will leverage its geographical advantages to further deepen collaborative innovation within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. It also will utilize the innovative capabilities of Xiong'an New Area to facilitate the rapid aggregation of innovation resources and the accelerated transformation of innovative achievements.