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Huai'an: A looming star in North Jiangsu Province

By Hao Zhou (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2008-09-27 15:22

Huai'an City, the hometown of China's first premier Zhou Enlai, is seated at the north of east China's Jiangsu Province. It can also boast being one of the four major cities other than Yangzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou in history along the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.

Although Huai'an, which has suffered a lot from the frequently flooding Yellow River and Huai River in Chinese history, is still underdeveloped, this energetic city is targeting to become another shining star in Jiangsu Province following Suzhou, Wuxi, and Nanjing.

Development with Huai'an Characteristics

"Actually, Huai'an has lagged behind Jiangsu's southern cities such as Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou," admitted Liu Wenzhong, Secretary of Huai’an municipal Party committee. "However, as an underdeveloped city, we can learn from other leading cities' experience and avoid their mistakes that they have committed," Liu added.

Huai'an features China's most intensive highway coverage. "Jiangsu tops other provinces in high-way intensity in China, and Huai'an takes the lead in Jiangsu," Liu introduced, "There are 3.77 kilometers of highways per 100 square kilometers in Huai'an, while the figure is only 3.47 in Jiangsu and about 0.5 for the whole country."

Huai'an train station

Located 120 kilometers away from Lianyungang, one of China's largest port cities and logistics centers, Huai'an will take advantage of its convenient location to develop modern transportation and logistics industries. In addition, the construction of an airport will be started in the city from October 22 this year, aiming to further fuel its economic development.

Huai'an had a gross domestic product (GDP) of 43.4 billion yuan ($6.35 billion) in the first half of this year, up 14 percent year-on-year. In the meantime, Huai'an citizens' per capita disposable income met 7,010 yuan in the first half, up 14.7 percent, while farmers' cash income reached 2,957 yuan, up 17.8 percent over the same period of last year.

"Bearing eco-friendly development in mind, we will try our best to let all the people in Huai’an to share the benefit of development," Liu pledged.

Huaigang Special Steel

Huaigang Special Steel Co Ltd

Huaigang Special Steel Co Ltd, owned by Jiangsu Shagang Group, is one of China's largest special steel producers. The company realized profits of 707 million yuan last year, and it targets are 15 billion yuan in sales revenue and 1.5 billion yuan in pre-tax income this year.

With a special steel-making and rolling line introduced from Italian steel processing technology and equipment provider Danieli, Huaigang is now able to produce 3 million tons of special steel products, such as spring steel, bearing steel, gear steel and tubular steel, 50,000 tons of silicon steel sheets, as well as 130,000 tons of metallurgical cokes, said Huaigang's deputy general-manager Wang Zhongying, who is in charge of product quality and development.

Huaigang's deputy general-manager Wang Zhongying

"We can also produce anchor chain steel for marine use, non-quenched and tempered steel, as well as high strength steel for fasteners," boasted Wang. "We are expecting to enter into China's top 3 and world’s top 10 special steel makers this year."

Huai'an Economic Development Zone

Chinese Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology

Huai'an Economic Development Zone, covering an area of 132 square kilometers, has attracted more than 200 foreign ventures, such as South Korean Hankook Tire, Bregium-based Stokota Special Vehicle Co Ltd, and Chinese Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology, to invest here.

Huai'an Export Processing Zone

The state-level Huai'an Export Processing Zone opened in July this year and the Huai'an Pioneering Park for overseas Chinese scholars is also booming in the economic development zone.

Enterprises in the zone, mainly focusing on information technology, salt chemistry, and service trade, enjoy various favorable investment polices from the municipal administrations. For example, export-oriented enterprises only have to pay 10 percent of income taxes, and the tax ratio for foreign-invested manufacturing enterprises is 15 percent. Foreign investors who use their profits to make further investment in China and operate them in no less than 5 years will be totally tax-free in the new ventures.