Changsha: Remodelled as modern manufacturing center

Changsha's friendly business environment helps companies develop rapidly

Changsha, Hunan province, is looking to develop itself into a national intelligent manufacturing center, leading businessmen and top local officials said.

"Changsha has become fertile ground for developing the intelligent manufacturing industry," Sun Guozhong, president of Robert Bosch Starter Motors Generators (China), told Chinese media.

Sun said that it took less than one year for his company to begin operations there, which provided "convincing evidence" for his view.

The city's friendly business environment has helped the company to grow rapidly, he added.

As a key point on the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, as well as a crucial part of the city cluster in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the provincial capital aspires to forge a competitive edge in the intelligent manufacturing industry, local officials said.

The city will make full use of the Made in China 2025 strategy to upgrade its manufacturing sector to be more advanced and more environmentally friendly, they added.

With a well-established industrial foundation, Changsha has joined the ranks of leading Chinese cities, each boasting at least 1 trillion yuan ($150.75 billion) in combined annual industrial output value.

Home to more than 3,000 medium-sized and large companies, the city witnessed its GDP increase more than fourfold from 2005 to 2015.

During the period, the city improved its national GDP ranking from 24th to 14th. Last year and in the first six months of 2017, Changsha maintained GDP growth at the forefront of the country.

The city also has strong research and development capabilities, which provide robust support for sustainable innovation in the sector.

Home to 68 State-level technological centers and labs, as well as 529 provincial and city-level research facilities, the city has won scores of national awards for R&D achievements.

In the wake of a series of major cutting-edge Changsha-created products which have been rolled out - including supercomputers, super hybrid rice and high-performance 3-D laser printers - technological innovation is increasingly seen as a pivotal driver to promote the manufacturing sector's transformation.

The State Intellectual Property Office gave the green light to establish the China (Changsha) Intellectual Property Protection Center in June, with a focus on the intelligent manufacturing sector.

The center is scheduled to start operations at the end of this year.

The official approval shows SIPO's recognition of Changsha's technological innovation in the industry, local officials said.

By the end of September, the average ownership of invention patents in Changsha was 25.64 per 10,000 people.

In addition, top universities provide a rich reservoir of technological and management professionals for the healthy, sustained growth of the intelligent manufacturing industry.

The city has also brought in technological experts in recent years, to work together with local research teams to develop a high-tech industrial cluster, covering production, promotion and demonstration, and testing.

One of three major demonstration zones for the application of the Beidou Navigation Satellite System in the country, Changsha boasts a massive industrial center, home to high-level professionals, and model industrial applications cluster.

The city's industries related to the Beidou system generate more than 10 billion yuan in annual industrial output value.

The new materials industry, as an upstream sector for advanced machinery manufacturing, has also maintained a robust growth in the city in recent years.

Its annual industrial output value topped 200 billion yuan in 2015 and grew to 230 billion yuan in 2016. The figure is projected to reach 250 to 260 billion yuan this year.

Changsha's comprehensive advantages in the intelligent manufacturing sector have attracted a group of industrial giants.

ZTE, a telecommunications company headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, has invested heavily in its largest R&D and production center in Central China. This was put into operation in the city in August and is capable of producing 20,000 set-top boxes a day.