Shenyang targets national development zone top spot

Local government highlights innovation across a range of modern industries to spur growth

Tiexi district of Shenyang, capital of Northeast China's Liaoning province, pledges to make greater efforts in the coming years to build Shenyang into a national central city, a senior official said at a recent news conference.

The district will also strive to help the Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone grow into one of the key national development zones within three years, said Guo Zhongxiao, Party secretary of Tiexi, where the zone is located.

To realize these goals, Tiexi will advance new industrialization and use new-generation information technology to empower and increase efficiency for traditional industries, Guo said.

Centering on eight key industrial chains, the district also plans to build two industrial parks with special characteristics, as well as another six to support the development of local large enterprises, he added.

By 2025, the district's GDP, general public budget revenue and total industrial output are all expected to double, Guo said.

Also, the district will continue to modernize industrial chains and optimize the industrial structure, in a bid to achieve greater self-reliance and strength in science and technology, as well as making breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields.

It plans to increase the appeal of the Shenyang-Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park, the Innovation China Integrated Platform, and international sci-tech cooperation bases to investors by creating a better business environment.

Moreover, it will vigorously promote digital industrialization and industrial digitalization to turn itself into a highland of industrial internet in Northeast China and even the whole country.

As for the advancement of high-level opening-up, Tiexi will accelerate the construction of a new pattern of opening-up in the sectors of economic and trade exchanges, industrial cooperation and collaborative innovation, which will be driven by the Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone and the China-Germany Equipment Manufacturing Industrial Park.

The park, built in late 2015, is China's first platform for high-end equipment manufacturing cooperation with Germany. Premium carmaker BMW invested 15 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) in a new plant at the park, its largest single investment project so far in China, which officially opened in June.

Before that, BMW located its largest research center and the only powertrain plant outside Europe in the park. As of October, the park had attracted direct investments from 84 of the world's top 500 companies.

In addition to industries, Tiexi also attaches great importance to the improvement of the living environment, and plans to build a livable, resilient and smart district with improved urban planning and governance.

Five urban renewal actions will be implemented, and industrial relics will be used to construct youth-friendly streets and attract talents.

"We will unswervingly stick to a path of high-quality development that gives priority to ecology, energy conservation, and green and low-carbon growth," Guo said.

"We will build a diversified green system with several parks including the China-Germany Park and Hunhe West Canyon Ecology Park as the core," he added.

Greater efforts will be made by the Tiexi district government to further improve people's well-being. "We hope to provide more employment opportunities, higher-quality education and elder care, and a more stable and secure life for our people," Guo said.