Changzhi's growth powered by much more than coal

Robots are used for producing electronic products at a plant in Changzhi. [Photo by Li Ning for China Daily]

Through its successful fostering of high-tech industries, Changzhi, a traditional coal-mining city in Shanxi province, is poised to become a national demonstrative city for innovation.

Newly added to the list of advanced facilities that have helped to transform Changzhi into a local innovation powerhouse are China's first production line for producing artificial hearts and the plants for battery cells with a photo-electricity conversion ratio of 23 percent and deep ultraviolet LED devices with advanced sterilization capabilities.

Even the traditional coal industry has been diversifying, forming an extensive industry chain to cover chemicals and new materials.

Chen Erdong, secretary of the Changzhi committee of the Communist Party of China, said the driving force behind the city's transformation is a concentrated effort to vie for nationwide support in talent, technology and other resources.

Chen headed a delegation to visit Shanghai and Zhejiang province in mid-April, looking for new partners and seeking to consolidate existing agreements with local research institutions, universities and experts.

In Shanghai, the delegation visited the famed Shanghai Jiao Tong University, a long-standing partner of Changzhi. The university's leaders agreed to enhance and deepen their collaboration, especially in the research and development of high-performance photovoltaic batteries and high-speed maglev train motors.

In Hangzhou, Zhejiang, the delegation met with Ye Zhizhen, a Zhejiang University professor and member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Ye agreed to lead a team to Changzhi and help in its planning for low-carbon development.

Chen said introducing intelligent resources from the rest of the country is a practical approach to Changzhi's high-quality development, adding that the city does not have a deep talent pool for its desired high-tech development. "So we put more, or at least similar, emphasis on attracting talents and technologies than on drawing investment," said the Party chief.

Chen noted that experts from outside Changzhi have helped to build a number of technological innovation facilities in the city, including five State-level, 70 provincial-level and 179 city-level innovation platforms, which have helped local manufacturers grow into competitive high-tech companies.

According to a 2022 survey by the Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China on the performance of the nation's innovation-driven cities, Changzhi saw the addition of 11 innovation platforms at or above the provincial level, ranking it first among all cities in Shanxi.

The combined R&D investment made by local enterprises of designated size – those with annual sales revenue of more than 20 million yuan ($2.77 million) – reached 2.19 billion yuan last year, an increase of 38.6 percent. That growth rate ranked it second in the province, according to the survey.

Changzhi also saw the addition of 40 nationally accredited high-tech enterprises last year, boosting its total to 264.

Li Jiaming contributed to this story.