Work report reveals Shanxi remains on task

Senior officials focus on achieving five-year targets

High-quality development, economic transformation, energy revolution, ecological protection and promoting opening-up remain the key missions of Shanxi, a senior official said at a recent congress.

Lin Wu, Party secretary of Shanxi, made the remarks while delivering his work report on behalf of the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China at the 12th Shanxi CPC Congress, which was held in Taiyuan from Oct 25-29.

At the congress, Lin was again elected as the Party secretary of the standing committee of the 12th Shanxi CPC Committee. Lan Fo'an and Shang Liguang were elected as deputy Party secretaries and the standing committee includes nine newly elected members.

Lin said Shanxi's targets over the next five years include becoming a demonstration zone for the nation's transformation in resources development; a pilot region in the country's energy revolution; and an important experimental zone for ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River drainage region.

Other targets that the Shanxi government has set include becoming an advanced manufacturing base in China's central regions; a new hub for opening-up in China's inland regions; and a renowned tourist destination with international influence, according to the Party chief.

The official said Shanxi is expected to transform its resources development industry by 2030 and achieve basic modernization by 2035.

"Now that the blueprints are in place, the crucial thing is how to implement them," Lin said.

After attending the congress or watching the congress on TV or online, Party and government officials at various levels in Shanxi said they will map out their own plans to implement the targets for the next five years and beyond.

Wu Bin, Party secretary of Quwo and head of the county's government, said economic transformation will be the key task for the following years.

"The transformation should highlight the upgrade of traditional industries and be driven by strategically emerging industries," Wu said.

The county will utilize the latest technologies to improve the efficiency of traditional industries like steel and coking, pushing them toward high-quality growth featuring smart operations, higher added value and lower emissions.

The county will also foster emerging industries such as new materials, advanced manufacturing and industrial services, according to Wu, adding that the Quwo Economic and Technological Development Zone will be a major destination for such industries.

Lei Jiankun, Party secretary of Yangquan, said the application of intelligent and digital technologies will be crucial for the high-quality growth of the city as well as the entire province.

In recent years, Shanxi has used the latest digital technologies to promote the smart operations of its coal mines, greatly contributing to improving efficiency and safety.

In Yangquan, Lei said smart technologies are being used to improve city governance and urban management and offer more convenience to residents.

"Our aim is to build Yangquan into an intelligent city that features e-government administration, smart traffic, smart medical care and smart communities," Lei said.

In terms of developing a new hub for opening-up in China's inland regions, Shanxi has launched direct China-Europe freight train services to link to European and Central Asian countries.

On Sept 25, a freight train loaded with containers of various goods departed from Zhongding Logistics Park in the Shanxi provincial capital of Taiyuan, on its way to Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia. This was the 500th freight train since the service was launched in 2017.

"We have seen a steady increase in the number of China-Europe freight trains departing from Taiyuan over the past four years," said Zhou Yong, deputy general manager of Shanxi Jinou Logistics, the operator of the service.

According to Zhou, the number of trains was 10 in 2017 and it increased to 50 in 2018, 107 in 2019 and 185 in 2020. "And the Sept 25 departure was also the 148th freight train for this year."

A more recent move for promoting opening-up is the expansion of Taiyuan Wusu International Airport.

The airport was among China's busiest airports in 2019, serving about 108,000 plane landings and takeoffs, according to Liu Cheng, chief engineer for the airport expansion project.

"To meet the increasing number of passengers and growing volume of cargo transportation, we kickstarted the airport's third-phase expansion project on Oct 18," Liu said.

The project will include a new terminal building－T3－with a total floor space of 400,000 square meters and a parking apron that can accommodate 127 aircraft, as well as other facilities.

"The completion of the project will make Taiyuan one of the hubs of civil aviation in China," Liu said.