Henan achieves high-quality development in 2018

With the aim of high-end, intelligentized, green and integrative development, Henan devoted efforts to promote industrial transformation and upgrading. The 12 key industries – equipment manufacturing, new materials, energy and chemical industry, ecological food, electronic information, prefabricated construction, modern logistics, cultural tourism, pension industry, efficient farming, cigarettes and tobacco, and wine – are expected to make new breakthroughs in the province's social and economic development, while high-tech industries and strategic emerging industries grew by 12.3 percent and 12.2 percent.

A total of 33 impoverished counties along with 1.22 million people were lifted out of poverty in 2018, and more than 180,000 dangerous rural houses were transformed. The growth rate of per capita disposable income of farmers in poverty-stricken areas was 1.6 percentage points higher than that of the province's average level for rural areas.

Henan has taken steps to promote all-round opening-up and build an open economy at a higher level. The China (Henan) Pilot Free Trade Zone was launched on April 1, 2017, and related service systems of government administration, finance and law have been provided to the zone, which has undertaken the mission of building a modern multimodal traffic and logistics network linking the country's North and South and connecting the East and West, as well as a modern comprehensive transport hub serving the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2018, the total import and export value exceeded 550 billion yuan for the first time, up 5.3 percent year-on-year, and exports increased by 12.8 percent.

At the same time, Henan has emphasized scientific and technical innovation. Reforms of the Zheng-Luo-Xin National Innovation Demonstration Area are underway and the province expects to make full use of its reach. In 2018, 16 scientific achievements won National Science and Technology Awards, and the number of high-tech enterprises surpassed 1,000.

Henan also made significant achievements in tackling pollution, and boosting the amount of clean energy. The three-year pollution control action plan was actively carried out across the province, especially in air pollution control, with the average concentration of PM 2.5 in the province dropping by 1.6 percent. The province launched 10 major water conservancy projects, which received commendations from the State Council. With the target of "Building Henan into a forest province in 10 years", 173,000 hectares were afforested, and 300,000 hectares of forests were rehabilitated, exceeding the annual target.