[Xiaogan Daily] Xiaochang’s Industrial Economy Empowers High-Quality County-Level Development

Source: Xiaogan Daily, by correspondents Li Wenli, Li Jingyuan, Sun Yongfang, Zhang Feng, and Yu Hong

Green Rise: Thirty Years of Steadfast Effort in Xiaochang—Empowering High-Quality Development of the County Town through Industrial Economic Growth | Yangtze Cloud — Official Website of Hubei Network Radio and Television Station

Xiaochang County, established in 1993, once suffered from a “short industrial leg,” with an extremely weak industrial base and a highly monolithic industrial structure. Over the past three decades, however, its industrial sector has grown by leaps and bounds, emerging as the main driver of economic growth in Xiaochang County, Xiaogan City, Hubei Province.

Xiaochang Development Zone “Two-Oriented” Industrial Park.

In 2022, Xiaochang County recorded a total industrial output value of RMB 14.995 billion, 46.4 times the RMB 323 million in 1993, with an average annual growth rate of 14.2%. The total industrial value added reached RMB 4.498 billion, 55.5 times the RMB 81 million in 1993, representing an average annual growth rate of 14.9%.

At present, Xiaochang’s industrial economy is exhibiting a favorable trend of steady progress, continuous improvement amid progress, structural optimization, and enhanced quality and efficiency. The scale of the industrial sector and its pillar industries are steadily expanding, gradually giving rise to a new development pattern characterized by the parallel advancement of “One Zone and Three Parks”—namely, the Two-Model Industrial Park, the Huaxi Industrial Park, and the Xiaohan Industrial Park.

Development of Key Industrial Clusters

On May 20, Hubei Quanchengxin Precision Circuit Co., Ltd. officially commenced production. The project represents a total investment of RMB 1.2 billion and spans 224.88 mu of land. It is primarily engaged in the manufacturing and sales of high-precision multilayer printed circuit boards (PCBs) ranging from 4 to 20 layers, with products serving a wide array of industries, including computing, automotive, home appliances, networking, and medical equipment.

The Quanchengxin Precision Circuit Project Has Officially Commenced Production.

Upon commissioning, the project will have an annual production capacity of 1.8 million square meters of high-precision multilayer printed circuit boards, generating an annual output value of RMB 2.5 billion, with projected annual tax revenues exceeding RMB 50 million and creating more than 2,000 jobs. The first-phase project, now in full operation, is expected to achieve an output value of RMB 300 million in 2023. This will inject strong momentum into the expansion of Xiaochang’s PCB industry, bolster the “empowerment and backbone” of the industrial economy, and consolidate efforts to implement the “Strong County Initiative.”

Xiaochang has precisely aligned itself with the strategic priorities of the central and provincial governments and with the province’s “51020” modern industrial cluster initiative. It has conducted in-depth research into the foundations, comparative advantages, and development prospects of its industrial sectors, highlighting distinctive strengths, accelerating industrial upgrading, and vigorously fostering pillar industries. As a result, it has initially established two industrial clusters—mechanical and electronic manufacturing, and the circular economy—each with an output value exceeding RMB 10 billion.

Construction of the Haiyue Electric project is being accelerated.

Leading enterprises in the machinery manufacturing sector, such as Huiyang Electrical Appliances, Anlans, Hefeng Motor, and Haiyue Electric, are increasingly demonstrating their role in driving industry growth. Currently, Huiyang Electrical Appliances ranks third nationwide in market share for micro-special motors, while Anlans holds the top national and third global share in the market for large-scale central air-conditioning compressors. Meanwhile, the PCB circuit board industry, represented by Longteng, Quanchengxin, Zhongneng, and Lizhida, boasts broad prospects for development. At present, Xiaochang’s PCB circuit board market accounts for 35% of the province’s total market share.

A circular economy model, exemplified by Hengchang Electric, Huachang Electric, and Linglong Aluminum, has emerged and is developing in a clustered manner. Last year, Hengchang Electric achieved an output value of RMB 6 billion and was named among the Top 100 Private Enterprises in the province for 2022.

The greater health industry, represented by companies such as Enocote Corporation, Li Shizhen Pharmaceutical, Chennuo Pharmaceutical, and Longwei Pharmaceutical, is accelerating its development.

Pooling Efforts to Attract Investment

“The company is eager to expand into Xiaochang because of the numerous preferential policies in place, which are highly conducive to business development,” said Yan Zifang, Chairman of Foshan Yinyiqiang Aluminum Co., Ltd., on May 20, following the signing of the project agreement and the company’s official establishment in Xiaochang.

On that day, Xiaochang held an investment promotion conference and a centralized signing ceremony for key projects, during which a total of 18 projects were signed, with a combined agreed investment of RMB 17.97 billion.

Xiaochang County adheres to the “projects-first” philosophy and continuously advances its “No. 1 Project” for investment promotion. It has made concerted, decisive efforts to attract high-quality investors and leading enterprises while implementing robust measures to optimize the business environment and strengthen support mechanisms, resulting in the successive establishment of a number of large-scale projects that serve as industry leaders and possess strong spillover effects.

The county has comprehensively broken down the annual targets for investment promotion and organized consultation and decision-making meetings on investment attraction, as well as centralized signing ceremonies for investment projects. Focusing on key industries such as mechanical and electronic manufacturing (including PCBs), biopharmaceuticals, the circular economy, and the integrated development of agriculture, tourism, and health care, the county is conducting industry-chain-based investment promotion centered on “strengthening, supplementing, and extending” industrial chains.

Leverage social resources to attract investment, fully capitalize on the information agility and extensive networks of appointed investment ambassadors, and engage them as “matchmakers” to promote and showcase investment opportunities. Focusing on leading industries and their upstream and downstream value chains, deepen and expand business-to-business investment promotion efforts to draw in strong, capable enterprises to invest and establish operations.

We have vigorously promoted agency-based investment promotion, leveraging the existing Huachen Shengye platform to establish stable cooperative relationships that uncover more high-value investment opportunities and jointly organize investment promotion events. Since last year, we have successfully attracted a number of projects—including Nobeth, Youchangjia, Yiming New Materials, Haizhou Environmental Protection, Haiyue Electric Appliances, and Shuer Home Furnishings—to establish operations in the region.

Focusing on key investment attraction priorities, we will form specialized investment promotion teams tailored to local conditions and dispatch them to key regions such as the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta for on-site investment promotion.

Fully implement all policies and measures designed to benefit businesses, with cost reduction as the central focus. Provide “point-to-point” support for key production factors such as financing, land, labor, and energy consumption, further fostering a favorable business environment. Offer comprehensive services, ensure all necessary resources are in place, and provide robust support to attract investment projects, helping them settle, construct, and commence operations as soon as possible so they can quickly achieve full production capacity and deliver expected results.

From January to April, the county signed a total of 19 projects each with an investment of over RMB 100 million, with a total contracted investment of RMB 28.11 billion.

The “One Zone and Three Parks” layout has been established.

On May 18, the Hubei Huasheng Special Wire and Cable Project broke ground at the Huanxi Industrial Park in Xiaochang County. With a total investment of RMB 1 billion, the project is a deep-processing initiative for copper rods and an extension of the industrial chain undertaken by Hubei Huachang Electrical Materials Co., Ltd. Upon reaching full production capacity, the project is expected to generate annual output value of RMB 1.5 billion, contribute over RMB 100 million in comprehensive tax revenue, and create more than 200 jobs.

With the development of the industrial economy, Xiaochang has continuously expanded its platform infrastructure. By the end of 2022, the Hubei Xiaochang Development Zone had completed its expansion and reorganization. Following these adjustments, the zone now adopts a “one zone, three parks” development pattern, comprising the Two-Oriented Industrial Park, the Huaxi Industrial Park, and the Xiaohan Industrial Park.

Longteng Electronics Workshop.

The two model industrial parks are focusing on developing industrial clusters such as mechanical and electronic manufacturing and biopharmaceuticals, with the goal of building resource-efficient and environmentally friendly park environments. Currently, the mechanical and electronic industry is experiencing robust growth: Dayang Motor’s “Xiaochang-made” products have gained nationwide recognition, while a number of leading enterprises—including Huiyang Electrical Appliances, Longteng Electronics, and Quanchengxin Electronics—have emerged as pioneers in their respective fields. Meanwhile, the traditional Chinese medicine–based greater health industry is expanding rapidly, attracting biopharmaceutical firms such as Xiuzheng Pharmaceutical and Li Shizhen Pharmaceutical. By aligning with Wuhan Optics Valley Bio-city, these enterprises have helped establish a Greater Health Industrial Park that exerts significant influence across the Central China region.

Hubei Huiyang Electric Appliances’ DC Brushless Motor Workshop.

Hengchang Electric’s production workshop in the Huanxi Industrial Park.

Huaxi Industrial Park is vigorously developing a full-chain circular economy. Currently, the park’s annual output of bright copper rods and recycled aluminum stands at 200,000 tonnes, generating an annual output value of RMB 12 billion. At the same time, the park is firmly committed to the overarching goals of “strengthening, reinforcing, supplementing, and extending industrial chains,” leveraging key enterprises such as Hengchang, Hengsheng, Huachang, and Huasheng to continuously expand the scale of industrial clusters, promote “chain-based plus cluster” development, and strive to build a circular-economy–driven, specialty industrial park with an output value of over RMB 10 billion.

Xiaohan Industrial Park has proactively capitalized on the spillover effects and industrial relocation opportunities presented by Greater Wuhan, undertaking the transfer of industries from Wuhan and the commercialization of high-end scientific and technological innovations originating in Wuhan. The park prioritizes the development of advanced manufacturing and new-energy equipment, gradually establishing an integrated, coordinated development model characterized by “R&D in Wuhan, manufacturing in Xiaochang; financing in Wuhan, investment in Xiaochang; leading enterprises based in Wuhan, supporting industries in Xiaochang.”

The Xiaohan Industrial Park is taking shape.

A strong industrial sector underpins a strong county, and thriving enterprises drive county-level development. By the end of 2022, the county had attracted 279 enterprises to its industrial parks, including 118 industrial firms—of which 60 were above designated size—employing a total of 27,000 people. These enterprises collectively generated an industrial output value of RMB 13.7 billion, main business revenue of RMB 13.5 billion, and tax contributions of RMB 355 million.