Xi's Hunan inspection highlights new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions

Chinese President Xi Jinping inspected Changsha, the capital of central China's Hunan Province, on Monday.

During the inspection, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, learned about local endeavors to accelerate the development of new quality productive forces and promote high-standard opening up.

New quality productive forces tailored to local conditions

The inspection tour of Hunan is believed to be Xi's first on-the-ground guidance for accelerating the development of new quality productive forces according to local conditions.

In Changsha, he visited BASF Shanshan Battery Materials Co., Ltd., a joint venture formed by German enterprise BASF and Chinese company Shanshan in 2021.

The company is a leading global supplier of lithium battery materials, and its products are widely used in high-tech fields, including electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage power stations.

Xi's trip to Hunan came after the annual sessions of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the country's top political advisory body, in early March, during which he stressed the importance of accelerating the development of new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions in a deliberation with National People's Congress deputies from the delegation of Jiangsu Province.

During the deliberation, he urged localities to take into account their own resource endowment, industrial foundation and scientific research conditions and selectively promote the development of new industries, new models and new growth drivers. He also urged them to use new technologies to transform and upgrade traditional industries into high-end, intelligent and green industries.

High-standard opening up

This is Xi's fourth inspection tour of Hunan. His four trips to the province coincided with important junctures in the country's rejuvenation endeavors.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and it is critical for the country to realize the goals and tasks of its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025).

Expanding high-standard opening up has been identified by Chinese leaders as a priority for the economic work in 2024, and it was highlighted in this year's government work report.

Hunan is a major economic province in central China, and its total economic output exceeded 5 trillion yuan ($0.69 trillion) for the first time last year.

During his visit to BASF Shanshan Battery Materials Co., Ltd., Xi also learned about efforts to promote high-standard opening up.

Hunan has been devoted to becoming a key area of reform and opening up in central China as Xi had urged the province to deeply integrate into the Belt and Road Initiative and advance the innovative development of foreign trade.