Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture Overview — Opening Up (III)
Section 3: Economic Cooperation. Xiangxi is open to all countries as well as to all domestic regions, major cities, industries and enterprises. Following the principles of leveraging strengths and offsetting weaknesses, diverse forms, mutual benefit and common development, it has developed horizontal economic ties and economic-technological cooperation. On October 3, 1984, Xiangxi Prefecture Governor Wu Yunchang...
This article has been compiled from historical materials in the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com · City Overview section). Some administrative divisions, population, socioeconomic data, and policy information may be outdated and are for reference only; for the latest situation, please refer to official releases by the local government and scenic areas.
Section 3 Economic Cooperation
Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture is open both to countries around the world and to all domestic regions, major cities, industries, and enterprises. In accordance with the principles of leveraging strengths to offset weaknesses, diverse forms, mutual benefit, and common development, it develops horizontal economic ties and economic and technological cooperation.
On October 3, 1984, Wu Yunchang, governor of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, led an inspection delegation to Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and other places to study the issue of developing horizontal economic ties. That year, the Prefecture Economic and Technological Cooperation Office was established, focusing specifically on horizontal economic association work.
In order to promote the development of economic and technological cooperation across the prefecture, the People's Government of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture formulated a number of preferential policies, which played a certain role in developing economic and technological cooperation. By 1987, the 10 counties within the prefecture had implemented more than 300 cooperation projects with more than 180 units in 21 provinces and cities across the country, powerfully promoting economic and social development.
On April 29, 1992, the People's Government of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture issued the "Several Provisions on Promoting Horizontal Economic Association." In 2001, it also formulated several preferential policies for western development and attracting investment, creating a favorable policy environment for utilizing foreign capital and developing horizontal economic ties.
Deepening reform, expanding opening up, developing foreign economic trade, and developing foreign economic and technological cooperation promoted the diversification of investment entities, the marketization of resource allocation, the socialization of labor employment, the modernization of production technology, and the internationalization of the ethnic economy. The concentrated embodiment of these "izations" is the vigorous development of the private economy. According to incomplete statistics, between 1995 and 2000, townships and private enterprises in the 8 counties and cities within the prefecture intensified efforts to attract investment and develop economic and technological cooperation, successively introducing 297 million yuan in funds and many advanced technologies, and building a number of key township private enterprises. The Maogou Smelting Plant in Baojing County attracted 25 million yuan in investment from various sources, completed the technological transformation of a 2,000-ton/year electrolytic zinc production line, and made the enterprise leap to become a key township enterprise with annual sales revenue of 180 million yuan and annual profits and taxes of 7.12 million yuan. Zhenxing Chemical Plant in Huayuan County is a private enterprise restructured from a state-owned enterprise. Through economic and technological cooperation, it invested 20 million yuan and in 1999 completed the transformation of a 100,000-ton/year mine and the expansion of a 12,000-ton/year electrolytic manganese and 9,000-ton/year manganese oxide production line. In 2000, its output value reached 140 million yuan, it earned 13.92 million US dollars in foreign exchange through exports, and paid 5.84 million yuan in state taxes that year, ranking second in Hunan Province in export foreign exchange earnings. The private enterprise Mengdong River Natural Plant Products Co., Ltd. in Guzhang County introduced outside capital and advanced technology and, using Guzhang's tea resources, built a high-tech product tea polyphenol production line with an annual output of 20 tons, achieving good results. The Pushi Fertilizer Plant in Luxi County, relying on economic and technological cooperation, built new production lines with an annual output of 10,000 tons of calcium hydrogen phosphate and 5,000 tons of potassium sulfate, making this little-known township enterprise leap to become a rising star in the prefecture's phosphorus chemical industry.
Entering the new century, the situation of private enterprises being "large in number but small in size" changed. By the end of 2001, the number of private industrial enterprises in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture with annual operating revenue of more than 5 million yuan had increased to 38, including 2 with annual operating revenue of more than 100 million yuan and 18 with 10 million to 100 million yuan. The number of private enterprises producing export products increased to 13, and that year self-operated export foreign exchange earnings reached 17.75 million US dollars, an increase of 30.2% over the previous year. More and more private enterprises took the initiative to partner with colleges, universities, and scientific research institutions, actively developing downstream products with high technological content, taking the path of deep processing and fine processing, and promoting enterprise products to higher grades and levels. That year there were 577 private industrial enterprises, realizing an industrial added value of 1 billion yuan, accounting for 53% of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture's industrial added value.
In 2002, private enterprises in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture continued to grow bigger and stronger. Through various methods and channels, private enterprises introduced 41 construction projects, brought in 440 million yuan in funds, and introduced more than 800 outside businesspeople, achieving good results in drawing on external forces, activating internal momentum, and enhancing strength. That year, the added value of private industry reached 1.12 billion yuan, accounting for 59% of the prefecture's industrial added value, an increase of 14% over the previous year. Private enterprises invested 8.95 million yuan in scientific and technological development projects and developed more than 20 high-tech products, some of which had obtained provincial and ministerial-level quality product certification. Private enterprises introduced more than 120 professional and technical personnel of various types, effectively improving the management personnel structure of private enterprises and raising the quality of management personnel. Ten private enterprises passed ISO9000 international standard quality management system certification, some implemented computerized management, and established modern enterprise management systems. Hunan Jinshi Group, in just 3 years, through introduction, restructuring, and low-cost expansion, rapidly developed into a cross-provincial and cross-regional group company with assets of 500 million yuan. A number of private enterprises such as Senyuan Oil and Fat Company in Yongshun County, Zinc Industry Development Company in Baojing County, and Jinxu Company in Luxi County showed strong development momentum, and some had already entered the top 500 private enterprises in Hunan Province's ten major industries.
In 2004, economic and technological cooperation in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture developed to a new stage. On January 8, the prefecture government invited Mr. Dong Xijian, a decision-making consulting expert of the Shanghai Municipal Government and department manager of Shanghai Industrial Consulting Company, to Jishou to give a special lecture for responsible persons of units at or above the deputy division level directly under the prefecture and cadres at or above the section level in major comprehensive economic departments directly under the prefecture on how to respond to global economic integration and the radiation of the "Yangtze River Delta" economic circle led by Shanghai, and how to rely on the advantageous resources of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture to carry out investment promotion work. The attendees were deeply inspired, updated their concepts, and clearly recognized that economically underdeveloped areas have even more advantages and conditions for attracting investment, and even more need to promote rapid economic development through investment attraction. In February, on the basis of hiring 3 economic advisers and 18 investment agents the previous year, it hired Mr. Dong Xijian and Ms. Zhao Qian, chairman of Pacific Investment Consulting Co., Ltd., as advisers to Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, hired Tang Guoqing and 4 others from Shanghai as investment attraction agents, and set up an investment attraction agency office in Shanghai. On the 3rd to 5th of the same month, the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture government entrusted the Shanghai Municipal Party School to hold the first special training class on investment attraction for Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture. Deputy county and city heads in charge of investment attraction in each county and city within the prefecture, investment promotion bureau directors, and responsible persons of major comprehensive economic departments directly under the prefecture participated in the training. Participants generally reported that this training was high-level, new in concepts, effective, and highly rewarding, helping everyone update their thinking and broaden their horizons, and laying a solid foundation for doing a good job in investment attraction.
In mid-April of that year, the prefecture party committee and prefecture government held a high-level, large-scale prefecture-wide investment attraction work conference to deploy the year's investment attraction tasks, summarize and commend counties, cities, and units with outstanding investment attraction achievements the previous year, comprehensively implement the system of agency application and approval for key projects and one-window external service, one-ticket fee collection, one-stop approval, and one-stop service, and focus on improving the policy environment for encouraging investment attraction and reassuring and enriching businesses. It was decided to implement a reporting system and investigation and handling system for violations of optimizing the economic environment, and each county and city implemented a listing and protection system for key projects, as well as various administrative supervision and management systems.
That year, the CPC Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture Committee and the Prefecture People's Government successively organized high-level delegations to participate in major economic and trade negotiation activities such as the "Hunan-Zhejiang Investment Fair," "Hunan-Guangdong Economic and Trade Fair," "Pan-Pearl River Delta Economic and Trade Fair," and "Hunan Fair." Over the year, a total of 200 economic and technological cooperation projects were concluded, including 66 projects outside the province but within the country, with contracted investment of 5.24821 billion yuan, an increase of 40.3% over the previous year, completing 117.3% of the annual target management task, setting a new high for domestic economic and technological cooperation in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture.
In 2005, key private enterprises in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture actively participated in various large-scale investment activities such as the "Hong Kong Fair" and "Hunan Fair," carefully selected a number of distinctive industrial projects for active promotion, and signed 35 contracts with contracted funds of 7.36 billion yuan. Through economic and technological cooperation and strengthened technological transformation, that year the prefecture implemented a total of 122 technological transformation projects under construction, with cumulative completed investment of 1.134 billion yuan, an increase of 33.4% over the previous year. Among them were 88 industrial projects, with completed investment of 752 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 56.8%. Enterprise technological innovation capacity continued to strengthen. The prefecture's 16 key industrial technological transformation projects progressed smoothly, and a number of industrial projects successively started construction and went into production. A number of projects were successively completed and put into production, including new product development by Xiangjiugui, the microfine aluminum powder project of Hunan Jintian Aluminum Industry High-Tech Company, the 10,000-ton electrolytic manganese project of Jishou Rongjiang Manganese Industry Group, the CTMP transformation of Xiangquan Pharmaceutical, the CTMP transformation of Hunan Bencao Pharmaceutical, tea polyphenols of Guzhang County Mengdong River Natural Plant Co., Ltd., the first-phase project of 40 tons of artemisinin of Huaji Pharmaceutical, and the first-phase project of 300 tons of compound tung leaf burn oil of Xiangxi Hongcheng Pharmaceutical. A number of industrial projects began construction, including the 10,000-ton trimanganese tetroxide project of Hunan Dongfang Manganese Industry Group, the low-energy-consumption automobile of Jishou Zongnan Company, the starch alcohol project of Longshan Jinshan Industrial Company, the 3,000-ton annual beef project of Nanfang Animal Husbandry Company, and the 10,000-ton electrolytic manganese project of Huayuan Huiyin. The selenium-free high-purity electrolytic manganese and electronic-grade trimanganese tetroxide projects of Hunan Dongfang Manganese Industry Group had been included in the national "863" Program, and the first-phase project was completed and put into production; its independently developed "bellows cold printing" technology obtained a national patent; the phosphate ore industrialization experimental base established by Luxi County and China University of Geosciences Wuhan began construction; the pilot project of "bio-pharmaceuticals from Chinese silvergrass" jointly developed by Huayuan County with Hunan Agricultural University and the Institute of Bast Fiber Crops of the Chinese Academy of Sciences passed appraisal by Hunan Province's science and technology department; the chromium-free passivation technology for electrolytic manganese developed by Luxi County was being applied in actual production; and industrial production trials using imported manganese ore entered the final stage. Utilizing foreign capital, introducing technology, and carrying out economic and technological cooperation had become the key point and breakthrough for accelerating industrial development and adjusting the industrial structure in Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture.