Regional advantages
Located in the center of the region surrounding the Baohai Sea, Hebei is an important link for inland provinces to the sea. Another important reform and opening up area pinpointed by the central government, the Baohai Sea area is now developing rapidly.
With two municipalities-Beijing and Tianjin, Hebei is a crucial link in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Economic Rim, which now boasts strong economic integration and a high degree of trade openness among the cities.
Transportation, telecom and e-governance
The province now serves as a transportation hub linking the Chinese capital Beijing and other provinces. A total of 15 major railways and 17 national-level roads traverse the province. The cargo transportation capacity of its railways and roads ranks at the top of inland provinces in China.
The combined length of expressways in the province is 1,706 km, ranking it sixth among inland provinces in China.
The ports of Qinhuangdao, Jingtang and Huanghua provide the province with convenient access to ocean transport.
The Shijiazhuang Airport, in the province’s capital Shijiazhuang, accommodates both domestic and international flights.
Its telecom and e-governance have been optimized in recent years, while direct dial telephone and mobile phone capacity reaches throughout in China and to foreign countries.
Human resources and research institutes
Currently, Hebei has a total of 112,000 people engaged in scientific research, among them 81,000 scientists and engineers and 14 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering.
A total of 1,165 research institutes have been established in the province. In the city of Langfang, Oriental University Town continues to develop and is now home to education and research branches of 32 universities, including renowned institutions such as the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China University of Geosciences and the University of International Business and Economics. Prestigious Tsinghua University has teamed up with the Hebei provincial government to build the 666-hectare Tsinghua Scitech Park.
Business community
There are a total of 120 million consumers in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Economic Rim, almost one-10th of the nation’s total. Hebei is now an important market and commodity transportation hub linking northeast, northwest and north China. A total of 4,900 commodity markets have been founded in the province, ranking it at the top of the nation. The Xinhua and Nansantiao markets are listed among the top 100 markets in China.
Many famous supermarkets and department stores, including Beijing Wangfujing, Shanghua Hualian and Tianjin Family World, have established branches in Shijiazhuang.
The province’s noted companies Baigou Bag, Anguo Herbal Merdicine and Xinji Fur are recognized brands not only in China but internationally. Industrial strength
The province has a solid agricultural foundation with its grain, corn and oil production ranking at the top of the nation. Other important industrial sectors in Hebei include pharmaceuticals, chemicals, metallurgy, construction materials, machinery, food and textiles.
The North China Pharmaceutical Group, Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical Co, HanSteel Group, LoLo Group and Lekai Group have become noted brand enterprises in China.
Foreign trade
Hebei has trade cooperation with some 160 countries and regions and has formed friendship ties with 49 cities around the world.
Foreign investment in Hebei has originated from some 80 countries and regions. A total of 42 Fortune 500 companies have businesses in the province. Hebei has now formulated a series of policies to encourage foreign investment. It has streamlined approval procedures for foreign investors, while e-governance has reduced red tape in many registration processes.
It has improved its services to protect legal rights for investors and create a better business climate. |