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Provinces & municipalities

Anhui

Updated: Feb 11, 2019 chinadaily.com.cn Print

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Overview

Situated in the innermost part of China's most economically dynamic region—Yangtze River Delta, Anhui province is one of the country's smallest provinces, stretching across approximately 350 miles (570 kilometers) from north to south.

Covering an area of 140 thousand square kilometers, Anhui is topographically diverse with north of the province being part of the North China Plain and north-central areas part of the Huai River watershed.

As with topography, the province differs in climate from north to south. The north is more temperate and has more clear-cut seasons. January temperatures average at around −1 to 2 C north of the Huai River, and 0 to 3 C south of the Huai River; in July temperatures average 27 C or above. Plum rains occur in June and July.

By the end of 2017, the total number of permanent residents in Anhui had reached 62.55 million. It is also a province where ethnic minorities are scattered. According to the Sixth National Census conducted in 2010, there are 395.6 thousand permanent residents of 55 ethnic minorities living in Anhui, accounting for 0.66 percent of the total population of the country.

Anhui enjoys a rich supply of natural resources, including iron, coal and copper.

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Serving as a junction along the Yangtze River Economic Belt, in the recent years, Anhui has made tremendous progress in economic development and industrial restructuring.

In the year of 2017, Anhui's GDP reached 2.75 trillion yuan ($403 billion) with an annual growth of 8.5 percent. By different economic sectors, the value added of the primary industry was 261.17 billion yuan, up by 4 percent; that of the secondary industry was 1.35 trillion yuan, up by 8.6 percent; and that of the tertiary industry was 1.14 trillion yuan, growing by 9.7 percent. The industrial value added accounted for 41.8 percent of the GDP. The annual per capita disposable income of urban residents was 31,640 yuan, up by 8.5 percent.

The province boasts China's biggest clusters of household electrical appliances as well as many electronic products with the largest volume manufacturing centers of Haier, Hisense, Whirlpool, Gree, Royalstar, Meling.

Pillar industries

Anhui is now an important regional hub of coal and steel production, and an industrial network has been established to cover sectors of coal, power, metallurgy, chemicals, machinery, electronics, building materials, light manufactures, and textiles. There are eight major industries in the province, including automobile, equipment manufacturing, household appliance, electronic information, new material, new energy, biological industries as well as energy conservation and environmental protection.

Automobile Industry

With further reform and opening up, Anhui's automobile industry has witnessed a substantial growth in regards to its brand image and national influence. In 2017, the province produced 1.34 million completed automobiles with the total revenue reaching 282.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 7 percent. The sales of new-energy vehicles hit 65,100, up 46.9 percent year-on-year.

Equipment Manufacturing Industry

The equipment manufacturing is the first pillar industry in Anhui province, which witnessed rapid growth in 2017. The sales revenue of primary businesses of the industry amounted to 1.31 trillion yuan, among which three sectors enjoyed a growth rate of over 10 percent. The total industrial profit reached 75.3 billion yuan.

Household Appliance Industry

In 2017, Anhui produced more than 100 million sets of major household appliances, including refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners and televisions, a year-on-year increase of 15.2 percent. The sales of air-conditioner ranked second nationwide. The sales revenue of primary businesses of the industry exceeded 233 billion yuan, an increase of 13.9 percent on a year-on-year basis.

Electronic Information Industry

The output value of electronic information industry surpassed 400 billion yuan for the first time in 2017, up 20.2 percent year-on-year. The sales revenue of primary businesses of the industry reached 35.41 billion yuan, ranking sixth nationwide.

New Material Industry

As one of the emerging industries in Anhui province, new material boasts competitive advantages in terms of cost, performance and energy conservation compared with traditional ones. In recent years, Anhui's new materials industry has experienced rapid development, and formed a number of industrial bases and clusters with international influence. By the end of 2017, over 600 related companies were stationed in the province with the total output reaching 200 billion yuan.

New Energy Industry

Over the years, Anhui has been focusing on the cultivation of an array of leading photovoltaic enterprises. The sales of new energy vehicles increased by 38.5 percent in 2017 and a total of 26 new energy projects worth 12.6 billion yuan have been introduced into the city.

Biological Industry

As one of the key industries in Hefei city, Anhui province, biological industry enjoys a solid foundation and distinctive advantages with the establishment of a bio-economic experimental zone, the first of its kind in the world. In 2017, the city cooperated with Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences to introduce a medical research institute.

Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection

Anhui has made remarkable strides in energy conservation and environmental protection over the years. According to the official data, the total output of the industry maintained a good momentum increasing by 22.9 percent year-on-year in 2017. A total of 87 environment supervision institutions at provincial, city and county levels have been set up in Anhui.

Advantages

Home to 69 million people, Anhui has a reputation of having ideal business locations, beautiful landscapes, splendid culture, abundant resources and well-established industries, notably automobiles, household appliances, energy, agriculture and tourism.

Ideal location, convenient transport

Located in the deep hinterland of the Yangtze River Delta, the Chinese mainland's most dynamic region, Anhui not only benefits from the advanced coastal region's economic spin-offs and industrial transfers, but also acts as a bridge in the implementation of the policies of "Great Development of West China" and the "Rise of Central China Strategy" as the province enjoys the geographic advantage of linking north to south and east to west.

Anhui's multi-pronged transport system, with international airports, expressways, high-speed railways and inland waterways, makes it an important national transport hub and logistics center.

Abundant resources, strong industries

Fertile land means that Anhui's annual cereal output usually exceeds 30 million tones, one of the nation's highest. The plentiful mineral resources range across 158 types, and the reserves of 38 of those, including coal, iron, copper and limestone, place Anhui among China's top suppliers. Coal reserves alone exceed 1.17 trillion tones in 2017.
Anhui also thrives on rich educational resources, with 2,091 research institutes, 107 colleges and universities, five national big science projects, two national laboratories, 15 national key engineering laboratories and 20 national engineering research centers.

The big advantages from natural, educational and human resources bolster Anhui as a base for energy, raw materials, hi-tech and modern equipment. Many of its industries are influential and competitive nationally and globally.

The province's production of four major household appliances (air conditioners, televisions, refrigerators and washing machines) is about 100 million sets in 2017, accounting for approximately 20 percent of the national total. Among cities, Hefei ranks as China's biggest production base for household appliances. As for auto exports, Anhui leads the nation with 1.34 million completed automobiles.

Superior investment environment, great development potential

Anhui has entered a golden period of strategic opportunities. In 2017, the province achieved excellent trade performance including:
• The GDP reached 2.75 trillion yuan, up 8.5 percent year-on-year

• Fiscal revenue totaled 485.8 billion yuan, an increase of 11.1 percent

• Fixed asset investment value amounted to 2.91 trillion yuan, up 11 percent year-on-year

• Retail sales of consumer products reached 1.12 trillion yuan, an increase of 11.9 percent

• Export and import valued at US$53.64 billion, up 20.8 percent year-on-year

• Anhui investors invested $89.61 million in countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, up by 21.9 percent.

Anhui is making great efforts to becoming economically strong, culturally energetic and ecologically excellent while being highly livable and enterprise-friendly, creating an ideal situation complete with a prosperous economy, excellent ecology and harmonious society.

Responsible Departments

1. The Bureau of Commerce of Anhui Province

Contact:

Tel: 0551-63540027, 63540001

Address: No 1569 Qimen Road, Central Administrative and Cultural district, Hefei

Postcode: 230062

Website: https://www.ahbofcom.gov.cn/（Chinese）

2. Anhui Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment

Contact:

Tel: 0551-65217623, 65217619

Fax: 0551-65217617

E-mail: 3205486708@qq.com