Traditional chemical city reborn

Having followed an innovative development concept in recent years, Jilin city，Jilin province, is now on the road to sustainable development.

From head to the toe

The sequence of hundreds of petrochemical products constitutes a long industrial chain. What Jilin has been working on is construction of a complete circular economic industrial chain.

The Jilin Economic and Technological Development Area (JEDA) is located in the suburbs of Jilin city.

Xu Youji, deputy director of the administrative committee of JEDA, said that one of the key ideas of the park is the simultaneous upstream and downstream development of the chain supporting Jilin’s industries.

Connell Chemical, located in the area, is taking aim at a gap in the chain. Last year, a project involving an annual production of 600,000 tons of methanol made olefins was submitted, with a total investment of 4.9 billion yuan ($740 million).

The first phase of the project will be operational in late November, according to Wang Daxiang, the company's general manager. A large number of downstream companies are waiting for the project to start production.

From the low end to the high end

One of the tough questions Jilin has been dealing with is that good profits haven't necessarily come along with good sales. The reason lies in low-tech production processes, says Ma Tiefeng, deputy director of the petrochemical department of Jilin city's Industry and Information Technology Bureau.

As a consequence, the city has been focusing on the industry of fine chemicals, furthering high-end development.

One of the key ways in which Jilin can promote industrial transformation and upgrading is involvement with the carbon fiber industry.

Not long ago, Jilin Chemical Industry Circular Economy Pilot Park signed a cooperative development agreement with Shandong University to march deep into the carbon fiber field.

From chemical to ecological

According to statistics released by the Jilin Municipal Development and Reform Commission, quality standards for drinking water drawn from the Songhua River in the area of Jilin city have been 100 percent met for many years.

"We are the first demonstration zone of chemical industry circular economy in Northeast China. Waste recycling systems can recover about 500,000 tons of waste chemical products every year, and produce about 1.5 billion yuan ($227 million) output value," said Zhang Ke, deputy director of the administrative committee of the park.

During the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15), the energy consumption per unit of GDP in the park was reduced by nearly 35 percent.

Strict environmental protection has given new life to the traditional chemical city as an eco-city.