Biomanufacturing is regarded as a groundbreaking production technology with the potential to lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It promises significant transformations in three key areas: reconfiguring traditional chemical production models, replacing traditional methods of obtaining natural products, and changeling conventional agricultural breeding practices. On December 20, 2021, China released its first top-level design document in the field of bioeconomy, the 14th Five-Year Plan for Bio-economic Development, which emphasizes the need to focus on pioneering biotechnological innovations centered on biomanufacturing.
The top-level plan outlines a blueprint for future development. In recent years, the Huaihua Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government have positioned themselves to seize opportunities by employing a chain-based approach to vigorously develop the real economy and promote industrial growth. They have been actively constructing a “5+10” modern industrial system, resulting in the emergence of a robust biobased industry chain. In 2024, this sector achieved an output value of 5.45 billion yuan and tax revenues of 68.073 million yuan, marking year-on-year increases of 29.2% and 6.7% respectively, and injected tremendous vitality into the regional economic development.
Policy support
In light of biomanufacturing emerging as a new blue ocean for industrial development, the Office of Huaihua Biobased Industry Chain has rolled out new measures to support the industry. Guided by the Huaihua Key Industrial Chain Three-Year Action Plan (2023-2025), the city has established a working group headed by Vice Mayor Hu Heping. This initiative aligns with national and provincial industrial policies, benchmarking against advanced domestic industrial parks and exemplary development experiences. The plan, tailored to Huaihua’s development realities and enterprise needs, has led to the formulation and implementation of various policies, including the Policies to Support the High-Quality Development of the Bamboo Industry in Huaihua and High-Quality Development Plan for the Bamboo Industry in Huaihua (2025-2030). These policies provide comprehensive support in areas such as financing, land use, trade and talent, ensuring that investors can clearly understand their investments and benefits, thus injecting strong momentum toward achieving the goal of a 20-billion-yuan output value for the bamboo industry by 2028.
Inside the production workshops of Hunan Yi’ou Technology Co., Ltd., workers are busy with the pressing and laminating of truck floorboards. “Recently, the company has welcomed visits and evaluations from manufacturers and clients, including Volvo, MOSO, Home Depot and Isuzu. We expect to export 600 forty-foot containers to these clients by 2025,” stated Chairman Wang Liming. As favorable policies take effect, the company has also forged partnerships with more renowned domestic and international clients.
The intrinsic logic for the development of Huaihua‘s biobased industry chain is rooted in green and low-carbon principles. Over the past year, Huaihua has aimed to attract high-quality projects through precise policies, making the cultivation of enterprises the top priority for the high-quality development of its biobased industry chain. Leveraging its abundant forestry resources, the city is shifting the industry from resource utilization to resource optimization. In 2024, combined with the reform of collective forest rights, Huaihua actively promoted the contracted circulation of bamboo forests, completing a total transfer of 100,000 mu (approximately 6,667 hectares) of bamboo forests and achieving FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification for 235,000 mu (approximately 15,667 hectares). Additionally, Huitong Couty and Hongjiang Couty-level City have implemented planning for 280 kilometers of bamboo forest paths, while the municipal transportation department has preliminarily planned a connection of 89 kilometers between bamboo forest paths and main rural roads.
Looking at the biobased industry chain as a whole, the upstream consists of renewable biomass raw materials, the midstream focuses on biobased material production, and the downstream encompasses application fields such as packaging, catering, and textiles. Currently, there are 43 companies within the city’s biobased industry chain, including 14 high-tech enterprises and 13 technology-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises. A green industrial chain structure, centered around leading enterprises with tightly linked upstream and downstream companies, has begun to take shape.
Financial support
To develop the biobased industry chain, it is essential to coordinate the upgrading of traditional industries, strengthen emerging industries, cultivate future industries, and leverage finance to provide precise support to the real economy.
Over the past year, Huaihua has significantly increased financial support, investing 2.187 billion yuan in planning and constructing projects focused on four areas: bamboo forest transformation, initial bamboo processing, construction of bamboo industrial parks, and cultivation of support system for the bamboo industry. The city has also developed the “Huaihua Bamboo Industry Loan” financial service program. Businesses can access loans of up to 1 million yuan through single household credit loan or guaranteed loan.
Technological finance serves as a powerful engine for industrial development. In 2024, Huaihua initiated risk compensation reforms of knowledge value credit loans for technology-based enterprises across all production and operational aspects of the biobased industry chain. The city allocated 20 million yuan in risk compensation funds and established a system to support key projects. It also created “14+2” projects for core technologies in characteristic industries, along with the implementation of the Implementation Measures of Huaihua Knowledge Value Credit Loan Risk Compensation. These initiatives aim to financially support enterprises in enjoying policy benefits and help them maintain production stability and resolve financial difficulties.
Among the successful cases, Hunan Wanxiang New Materials Technology Co., Ltd., with the assistance of the Mayang Miao Autonomous County, signed a cooperation agreement for 10 million yuan in raw material trade, successfully obtaining a financial loan of 14 million yuan, which alleviated the company’s pressure on raw material procurement. Jingzhou Miao and Dong Autonomous County coordinated with the Industrial and Commercial Bank and other two financial institutions to help Hunan Yi’ou Technology Co., Ltd. secure a loan of 13 million yuan, addressing the company’s cash flow shortage. Xinhuang Dong Autonomous County organized financial departments to engage with Hunan Anxiang Technology Co., Ltd., coordinating a loan of 13 million yuan to mitigate funding pressure. Hongjiang District assisted Hengyu Bamboo and Wood in applying for a special project fund of 1 million yuan to promote the company’s high-quality development. Six biobased industry chain companies, including Wanxiang New Materials, Anxiang Technology, and Wuqiangxi Special Paper Industry, jointly secured a total of 22.7 million yuan in pure credit loans. Juntai New Materials and Qiaowei Ecology were recognized as key projects in the city and received funding support of 200,000 yuan and 150,000 yuan respectively.
In 2024, a total of 15 bamboo industry projects were signed in the city, with a total investment of 4.7 billion yuan. Leading enterprises, including Zhejiang Dazhuang and Zhudi Bamboo Industry, have settled in Huaihua. Jingzhou County and Huitong County were selected as the first batch of provincial demonstration zones for high-quality bamboo industry development. Yi’ou New Materials and Chenming Bamboo and Wood gained recognition as provincial-level forestry leading enterprises, while Yi’ou New Materials and Chenxin Bamboo Products Company were recognized as provincial-level technology-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises. Furthermore, bamboo product exports from the city continued to grow, and the comprehensive output value of the bamboo industry reached 4.39 billion yuan, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 44.4%.
Industry-university-research collaboration
The increase in the number of market entities as well as their vitality and strength is fundamental to industrial development. As the “short chain” within the “5+10” modern industrial system, the biobased industry chain must leverage its advantages and proactively seek transformation to extend its reach.
Over the past year, Huaihua has directly empowered industrial development through scientific research, concentrating resources to overcome bottleneck issues. The city has facilitated the establishment of 11 engineering laboratories, engineering research centers, and engineering and technology research centers at the municipal level and above for biobased industry chain enterprises, such as Juntai New Materials, Hanqing Biotechnology and Huanyu New Materials. Additionally, Huaihua has guided these enterprises to form collaborative relationships with universities like Central South University, Hunan University, and Hunan Normal University to accelerate the rapid conversion of critical technologies and help Huaihua secure a competitive position in the national biobased innovation.
To address challenges related to innovation in the biobased industry chain, Huaihua has established a technology market system and county-level workstations in 10 counties/districts, including Hecheng District, the International Land Port Economic Development Zone and Zhongfang County and set up a Huaihua branch of the Xiaoxiang Technology Element Market.
As the industrial cluster effect of Huaihua’s biobased industry chain becomes increasingly prominent, the effects of industrial agglomeration are being continuously unleashed. On October 29, 2024, facilitated by the municipal bamboo industry office, Yin Gangqiang, Party secretary of the International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan, visited Huaihua for investigation and research. Both parties agreed on 16 specific cooperation projects across 5 categories, including building innovation platforms and conducting scientific research collaborations, which lays a foundation for the creation of a research platform for the bamboo industry in Huaihua.
For an industrial chain to achieve high-quality development, seamless cooperation between upstream and downstream entities is essential, as is the transformation enabled by technological innovation. Adhering to a whole-industry-chain mindset, Huaihua focuses on addressing issues step-by-step and strengthening each link, weaving a robust biobased industry network characterized by strengthening, complementing, and extending the chain.
In 2024, the city signed 31 new industrial chain projects, with a planned total investment of 9.975 billion yuan and 4.492 billion yuan already secured. Among these, 31 projects have commenced, and 16 are already in operation.
The impressive development momentum of the biobased industry chain is also reflected in successes achieved by small enterpirses. Hunan Anxiang Technology Co., Ltd. successfully applied for a provincial enterprise technology center listed by the Hunan Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology and received 700,000 yuan from the Central Guidance on Local Science and Technology Development Fund. Hunan Zhonghe Carton Packaging Co., Ltd. and Hunan Juxing Organic Fertilizer Co., Ltd. successfully applied as technology-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises.
One chain connects to the aspirations for green development, while one city plays a significant role in the rise of industry. The vigorous development of Huaihua’s biobased industry chain is a example of the interplay between policies, technologies, and markets, as well as a vibrant interpretation of green concepts and high-quality development. As Huaihua embarks on a new journey, it will continue to use technology as a leverage point and the industry chain as a bond, pushing the biobased sector to transition from regional advantages to national prominence, thereby providing robust support for the implementation of the Three Highlands and Four New Missions Strategy and the Strategy of Five New Missions and Four Orientations.
(Translated by Yang Hong)