Green cars driving economic boom in Guangxi’s Guigang

A group of reporters representing 30 overseas media outlets from 20 countries gathered in Guigang, South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on May 19 to cover the development of electric bicycles and new energy vehicles in the city.

Guigang has experienced a boom in electric bicycles, generating good sales in China and in ASEAN countries, and the city has a balanced overall plan for its industrial development, according to Zhou Jun, China director of German Münster Television Station.

The city, which lies in the southeast of Guangxi, was listed as one of the autonomous region's strategic emerging cities in 2015, and released its development plan of "Industry flourishing and strengthening Guigang". As a result, the city broke new ground in its economic and social development in 2018.

The China-ASEAN New Energy Electric Vehicle Production Base in Guigang has introduced 79 enterprises, of which 40 have put into production, and a complete new energy vehicle industrial chain has taken shape in the city. In 2018, the new energy electric vehicle industry generated a total industrial output value of 2.5 billion yuan ($361.6 million).

The new energy vehicle industry in the city has also experienced a sharp growth in recent years. Guangxi Hope Automobile Company relocated to Guigang in 2016, and new energy passenger cars and buses produced in the company are popular in Guangxi and Guangdong. The company is expected to explore the ASEAN market to expand its overseas market.

In addition, many new energy vehicle enterprises have settled in the city, fostering a big industrial cluster of the automobile industry. Guigang is planning to set up a new-energy featured automobile production base in Guangxi with an annual output of one million by 2025, providing strong support for the city's new emerging industries. 

Moreover, the new industries of electronic information and bio-pharmacy have risen rapidly, and a new frame of four characteristic production bases, namely automobiles, new energy electric vehicles, electronic information, and bio-pharmacy has been formed in Guigang.

In 2018, the gross industrial output value above designated size totaled 116.8 billion yuan in the city, an increase of 18.9 percent year-on-year. Its added value of industries above a designated scale was 35.5 billion yuan, up 11.5 percent year-on-year, and the output of the emerging strategic industries grew by 145 percent, according to statistics.