Willows on banks bring new life to an ancient city; the faint sound of the spring thunder comes from the south.
A new year has begun. Recalling the busy and fulfilling days, we feel joyful and a sense of gain. As we look ahead, we are filled with hope and motivation. The editor reviewed Huaihua’s milestones under the “Bright Economy” initiative in 2024 and noticed three astonishing “1000” about Huaihua’s economic development—
Huaihua International Land Port handled over 1,009 trips, achieving the provincial target two years ahead of schedule. Huaihua City ranked first in the central region in terms of the number of trips of China-Laos freight trains.
Advanced manufacturing gained great momentum. The number of industrial enterprises above the designated size exceeded 1,000, and the value added of manufacturing increased by 11.5%.
Producer services developed at a faster pace. The number of commercial and trade circulation enterprises above the designated size exceeded 1,000.
So, what’s behind these impressive figures?
01 First attempt at chain-based development
Since 2023, Huaihua has focused on the development of the real economy, moved faster to develop the “5+10” modern industrial system supported by advanced manufacturing, and comprehensively implemented the industrial chain leader mechanism. It has adopted an industrial chain-based approach to develop industries and facilitate development, laying a strong industrial foundation for the “five new missions and four orientations” strategy and the building of a new, modern Huaihua City.
After more than two years of development, Huaihua has achieved initial progress in industrial chain-based economic development.
Over the years, the city has made solid and impressive strides—
All parties in Huaihua City made pragmatic efforts to promote development and economy. Industrial chain leaders made careful planning and adopted targeted measures to vigorously develop industrial chains. Chambers of commerce inside and outside Huaihua City acted as go-betweens. Taskforces on merchant investment made extensive efforts to introduce industrial projects. Entrepreneurs rose to the front to navigate challenges, developing numerous industrial landmarks. Relying on industrial chain-based development, Huaihua is showing strong momentum.
▲ Foreign merchants take a closer look at bags and suitcases
There are 129 enterprises in the bag & leatherware industrial chain. A sound development pattern spanning the entire industrial chain has formed, from finished products, pull rods, wheels, linings, masterbatches, zippers, webbings and packaging to foreign trade and e-commerce. An “international city of bag & suitcase” has taken shape.
Hunan Xiangtong Industry Co., Ltd., as the leader of the Huaihua bag & leatherware industrial chain, has established a solid cooperative relationship with nearly 100 upstream suppliers and built an industrial ecosystem of mutual dependence and joint progress.
“Relying on the industry scale and resource advantages, we have successfully introduced enterprises in the entire bag & suitcase industrial chain, including handles and leather straps.” On December 30, 2024, at the first annual meeting of Huaihua Bag & Leatherware Industrial Association, Mou Xiaofeng, Chairman of Hunan Xiangtong Industry Co., Ltd., said that the Huitong Bag & Suitcase Industry Base has planned multiple sub-industrial chains such as trolley bags, zippers, weaving, and accessories and basically formed a system covering the entire industrial chain of bag manufacturing, accessories production, and commerce and logistics.
Mou was full of confidence in the development of Huaihua’s bag & leatherware industry. “We are working with Huitong County on the second phase of the zipper production base and the weaving and printing and dyeing projects. We strive to build a top three zipper production base in the country in four years.”
Mou further introduced that the company would cooperate with Chenxi County to build a bag & suitcase accessories metal processing and surface treatment industrial park, build a fully automatic intelligent production base for pull rods and wheels of bags and suitcases in Huaihua International Land Port Economic Development Zone, and set up a production base for packaging materials such as cartons in Xinhuang to fully upgrade the supply chain system.
▲ Huaihua International Land Port (Cross-border) E-commerce Industrial Park
In addition to the bag & leatherware industry, Huaihua made remarkable achievements in the “5+10” modern industrial system—
As at the end of 2024, there were 50 enterprises in Huaihua’s new display industrial chain. In just three years, the new display industrial chain has grown from scratch to what it is today and brimmed with momentum.
These enterprises are located in eight counties and districts, including Huaihua Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone, Xupu, Zhijiang and Hecheng, forming an industrial concentration trend of “one core and multiple poles”, with Huaihua Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone as the center and other counties and districts as poles.
Huaihua also gradually formed an entire new display industrial chain encompassing silica sand, high-end glass, glass processing, display panels, touch control modules, display modules, smart home, and laptops.
On the afternoon of September 13, 2024, at the Exchange Meeting on the Development of the New Display Industry of the 11th Global Forum for Hunan Entrepreneurs, Wang Yuhong, an expert in the electronic video industry in China, told the reporter in an interview, “Huaihua has innate advantages in developing the new display industry.”
Liu Qi, CEO of Zhenjue Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., said, “Huaihua has been very forward-looking in taking the new display industry as an important direction for future development.”
In terms of the TCM industry, Huaihua introduced well-known enterprises such as CR Sanjiu, Shenogen Pharma Group, and China State Farm, launched 77 projects, and gradually developed itself into a “TCM valley in southern China”.
On January 21, the Hunan Modern Chinese Medicine Pharmaceutical Process Technology Innovation Center was officially established in Huaihua. As the only technology innovation center in Chinese medicine production, its establishment marks that the TCM industry in Huaihua City and even Hunan Province has entered a new stage of innovation-driven and high-quality development. This is an important milestone in the development of Huaihua’s TCM industry.
In terms of the bamboo industry, there are 27 enterprises above the designated size. In 2024, there were one new national leading forestry enterprise and two new provincial demonstration parks in the bamboo industry. Products of Yiou, Chenming, Rongjing and other enterprises are sold well in Europe, America, Japan and South Korea. Huaihua’s bamboo products, as good substitutes for wood, plastic and steel products, are well-known both at home and abroad.
Besides, with the building of the Anjiang Modern Crop Molecular Design Breeding Industrial Park in Huaihua, this “international city of seed industry” strove to develop core technologies. Chenzhou Mining, recognized as a national single champion in manufacturing, braved the waves ahead.
The city’s 413,000 business entities also strove to leap forward. There were 37 new provincial sci-tech innovation platforms, more than 550 new high-tech enterprises, more than 1,450 new small and medium-sized technology enterprises, and 3,032 new registered enterprises meeting the requirements for size, qualification or quota, with an increase of 10.4%.
Enterprises have gathered to form chains, and chains have gathered to generate momentum. The ever-emerging enterprises in Huaihua’s industrial chains resemble the beautiful notes on the stave, composing a song that inspires all.
02 Hard power of sincere investment promotion
In September 2024, during the 11th Global Forum for Hunan Entrepreneurs, Liu Qi, CEO of Zhenjue Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., was deeply impressed by Huaihua. “The event contact personnel are very sincere, professional and meticulous, which reflects Huaihua’s attitude—the city attaches great importance to this event.”
▲Opening Ceremony of the 11th Global Forum for Hunan Entrepreneurs (Photo by Yang Zhiwei from Huaihua Daily)
The sincere investment promotion personnel from Huaihua reached out to merchants during forum events. Their enthusiasm and sincerity aroused the nostalgic feeling of Hunan entrepreneurs.
During this forum, 108 major provincial investment promotion projects were signed, with a total investment of RMB81.74 billion; 191 municipal projects were signed, with a total investment of RMB74.32 billion. Specifically, Huaihua signed 19 provincial projects and 102 municipal projects, with a total investment of RMB15.95 billion and RMB34.57 billion, respectively. The city boasted obvious advantages in both the number of signed projects and total investment, showing its strength as the host city.
By reviewing these milestones, we find that Huaihua’s good business environment is not only reflected in large-scale conferences, but also in the process of industrial development.
On the evening of July 4, 2024, the meeting room of the Standing Committee of CPC Huitong County Committee was filled with applause. The People’s Government of Huitong County and CGN (Hunan) New Energy Development Co., Ltd. signed a new energy industry project with a total investment of RMB3.5 billion.
“We were still having a discussion at around 6 p.m. At around 7 p.m., we heard that we were going to sign the contract,” said a staff member of the Development and Reform Bureau of Huitong County. The company inspected Huitong and decided to sign the contract in less than half a day.
“Given the first-class business environment and the government’s great sincerity, we decided to sign and implement the project as soon as possible,” said Long Yingbin, Deputy General Manager of CGN New Energy Holdings Co., Ltd.
Entrepreneurs know best whether the business environment is good or not.
“It took only one month from the signing of the strategic cooperation framework agreement in June, to the formal signing of the project, and then to the incorporation of Xiuzheng Pharmaceutical Group (Hunan) Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.” Xiu Laigui, Chairman of Xiuzheng Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd. and Honorary President of the All-China Federation of Industry & Commerce Medical & Pharmaceutical Industry Chamber shared his experience of building a factory in Huaihua.
Xiu said that the government accelerated project progress with the most considerate services, the most enthusiastic support, and the highest work efficiency and reassured enterprises with proactive planning, forward thinking, and factor guarantee. “The speed and warmth of Jingzhou moved us and made us more determined and confident to develop here.”
▲ The Signing Ceremony of the First Hunan (Huaihua) RCEP Economic and Trade Expo & the Western Land-sea Corridor Boosting RCEP Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum was held. (Photo by Pan Yu from Huaihua Daily)
Let’s take a look at policy measures.
To foster a market-oriented, law-based and international business environment, Huaihua has made ongoing efforts to improve the development environment in recent years, in a bid to create an investment environment with low factor costs, low administrative costs, and low management costs for enterprises and enhance its attractiveness.
The city has successively issued policy measures such as the Implementation Plan for the Return of Hunan Entrepreneurs and Business Startups in Hunan, Eight Measures on Further Strengthening Investment Promotion and Expanding Opening Up, and Twelve Measures on Upgrading the Business Environment of Huaihua City, going all out to create an efficient and convenient government environment, an enabling and peaceful environment for businesses, a legal environment of law compliance, and a fair and honest market environment.
Huaihua has worked to streamline business handling procedures. The city established a “trans-provincial one-stop service” cooperation mechanism with 63 regions in 17 provinces, with 457 administrative service items accepted at one window, processed in one system, and handled in one go. The time for the establishment of enterprises has been reduced to one working day, and the approval time for social investment projects has been reduced from 58 days to within 36 days.
Huaihua was the first in Hunan Province to introduce the “Huaihua Business Connect” platform, launched the “Government-Enterprise Face-to-Face Exchanges” TV interview program, carried out the “Clean Governance Initiative” and “Section Chief Evaluation by Enterprises and the Public”, and used the “QR Code Supervision and Immediate Action” platform. It issued 152 Entrepreneur Green Cards to fully protect the rights and interests of entrepreneurs’ children in school enrollment, medical treatment, judicial services, etc.
“Huaihua Business Connect”, “Government-Enterprise Face-to-Face Exchanges”, “Clean Governance Initiative”, “QR Code Supervision and Immediate Action”, and “Entrepreneur Green Card” were promoted across Hunan Province.
Huaihua held the first “Entrepreneurs’ Day” event and issued the third batch of Entrepreneur Green Cards, totaling 100 cards. It carried out a series of activities to enhance policies, care and confidence on an ongoing basis, solving 1,890 corporate problems, and more than 90% of high-frequency matters were handled at one go.
The effects of a low-cost Huaihua City were evident. In 2024, Huaihua was once again rated as the “Most Attractive City for Investment in China” by the Global Times, reflecting its hard power in sincere investment promotion.
Huaihua is a reliable destination for starting a business. “We will foster an enabling environment for enterprises to thrive.” Given its sincere investment promotion approach and superior business environment, many entrepreneurs choose to invest and start business in Huaihua.
03 New look of a hub for opening up
On July 26, 2022, the Third Plenary Session of the Sixth CPC Huaihua Municipal Committee was held.
It was pointed out at the plenary session that CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and People’s Government of Hunan Province attached great importance to and strongly supported the development of Huaihua International Land Port and regarded it as a major project in fully implementing the strategic positioning and mission of the “Three Highlands and Four New Missions”. The authorities urged Huaihua to contribute to the accelerated formation of a new model of opening up with focus on promoting Belt and Road cooperation across the province and gave Huaihua a new positioning and new mission for development.
Relying on Huaihua International Land Port, Huaihua promoted the integration of the business flow, material flow, talent flow, capital flow and information flow, vigorously developed the hub economy, comprehensively scaled up industrial and city
capacity, and promoted the development of the open economy, writing a new chapter in the opening up and development of the inland region.
On May 27, 2024, the Several Policies and Measures to Promote the Accelerated Rise of the Central Region in the New Era was reviewed at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. The document clearly proposes to support the development of Huaihua International Land Port and formally included it in national strategies.
In over two years, Huaihua has developed into a hub for opening up.
▲ Huaihua International Land Port is bustling with gantry cranes rising and lowering non-stop.(Photo by Tian Min from Huaihua Daily)
In the winter sun, the road network along the Wushui River in southern Huaihua City is crisscrossed and vehicles are shuttling. Huaihua International Land Port is bustling with gantry cranes. As the tall gantry cranes rise and lower, batches of goods are loaded onto trains. As the whistle blows, the trains cross mountains and seas, heading towards the distance.
On December 26, 2024, a train loaded with finished paper whistled and departed from the Huaihua Railway Freight Yard, heading south along the new western land-sea corridor to Qinzhou Port in Guangxi. The goods will then be exported to Saudi Arabia by sea. With the smooth departure of this train, the number of trips of ASEAN trains handled by Huaihua International Land Port in 2024 exceeded 1,000.
In September 2021, the construction of Huaihua International Land Port started. The land port handled 151 trips, 455 trips and 1,009 trips in 2022, 2023 and 2024, respectively, completing the provincial target ahead of schedule. Huaihua City ranked first in the central region in terms of the number of trips of China-Laos freight trains.
Huaihua has further expanded opening-up and cooperation. Huaihua International Land Port has opened seven international logistics channels, including the Beibu Gulf Port, Zhanjiang Port, Guangzhou Port and Shenzhen Port sea shipping channels and the China-Laos, China-Vietnam, and China-Myanmar cross-border channels, transporting goods to 117 ports and stations in 46 countries and regions around the world. Huaihua International Land Port Development Co., Ltd. has been recognized as one of the first national 3A-level port enterprises.
The land port now boasts a variety of supporting facilities, including the customs supervision site, cross-border express supervision center, and LCL project in the southern area. International freight document processing, customs inspection, cross-border e-commerce, warehousing, distribution and other functions are constantly enhanced. The land port has emerged as a hub for opening up.
From these achievements made in 2024, we see Huaihua’s remarkable momentum in developing port industries, which is supported by Huaihua International Land Port, a hub for opening up.
▲ Production and processing site of the bag factory of Hunan Xiangtong Industry (file photo)
—An “international city of bag & suitcase” took shape in one year. Bags and leatherware were exported to 26 countries and regions, with the export value increasing by 83%.
—The routine Kunming-Huaihua cold-chain train on the Hunan-Yunnan-Lancang-Mekong line, the Thailand-Huaihua durian train, and the China-Laos-Thailand tropical fruit cold-chain train were launched. 15 enterprises including Alibaba.com and Hunan Chiniu E-commerce Co., Ltd. settled in the Huaihua International Land Port (Cross-border) E-commerce Industrial Park. The transaction volume of cross-border e-commerce increased by 80.3%, ranking first in the province.
—In 2024, Huaihua’s total foreign trade import and export volume stood at RMB13 billion, ranking first in the province for 10 quarters straight in terms of growth rate.
Regarding economic dynamics and the building of a hub for opening up, the First Hunan (Huaihua) RCEP Economic and Trade Expo held in 2023 in Huaihua has been very impressive. The event brought together over 600 well-known Chinese and foreign enterprises and more than 1,000 buyers, including 112 enterprises from 14 RCEP countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Laos. 113 cooperation projects were signed, amounting to RMB75 billion.
This economic and trade expo showcases joint efforts in pursuing high-standard opening up and marks the beginning of the exchanges and cooperation between the provinces along the new western land-sea corridor and RCEP countries.
Guided by Huaihua International Land Port, a large number of merchants have come to Huaihua for development. Advanced manufacturing has gained great momentum, with the number of industrial enterprises above the designated size exceeding 1,000, and the value added of manufacturing increasing by 11.5%. Producer services have developed at a faster pace, with the number of commercial and trade circulation enterprises above the designated size exceeding 1,000.
Huaihua, a blessed land, also made significant headway in developing the port, industry, city and tourism and implementing the “five new missions and four orientations” strategy...
Huaihua has broken new ground in developing a hub for opening up.
As a node project for building the new western land-sea corridor and aligning with the Belt and Road Initiative, Huaihua International Land Port has officially joined the “13+2” inter-provincial consultation and cooperation mechanism of the new western land-sea corridor and has been included in the list of national logistics hubs for commercial services. The ASEAN freight assembly center for Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi has taken initial shape, opening another “gateway” for Hunan and even the central region to connect with the world.
On January 6, the Ninth Plenary Session of the Sixth Party Committee and the Economic Work Conference of CPC Huaihua Municipal Committee was held. Relevant parties summarized their work in 2024, especially the economic work, and planned the city’s economic work in 2025, so as to motivate and mobilize all parties in the city to thoroughly implement the “five new missions and four orientations” strategy in line with the “three highlands and four new missions” vision, strive for high-level opening up and high-quality development, and assist Hunan Province in playing its part in Chinese modernization.
With the new plans, Huaihua will gain new momentum and create glorious achievements.
Braving winds and waves, Huaihua sets sail again. On the new journey, the hardworking and wise Huaihua people will unite as one and strive to build Huaihua into a new hub for reform and opening up in the inland region.
Huaihua City is thriving in an ever-changing era. Here, the editor wants to cite the Spring Festival couplets written by the members of the Huaihua Poetry and Couplets Association—
Remaining true to our original aspiration, we raise the flag and set sail, opening our land port to the other parts of the world.
Sticking to the five new missions, we gain momentum and increase efficiency, facilitating enterprises in creating a better future.
(Translated by Professor Yu Jie)