China's New Economy: Central Henan province explores new ways for economic boom

World
Europe

The inland city of Zhengzhou is now dedicated to connect China with the rest of the world. How does it make that? Xia Ruixue shows you how the capital city of Henan province is using its geographical advantage to further open up the country.

Henan Super Grand Electronic Technology spent years headquartered in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. In 2016, it relocated to Zhengzhou, in central China's Henan Province, driven by the advanced transport system, the 'Air Silk Road'. Now, a total of 400,000 mobile phones are produced here monthly, and transported out of China by the ton.

FENG MIN, GENERAL MANAGER HENAN SUPER GRAND ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY "Our customers give high priority to the timeliness of cargo delivery. The road to a large extent has made it an easier task to send phones to our customers – merely two to three days."

Feng wasn't the only one who witnessed the city's economic boom. Zhengzhou was a small county seat in the 1940s. It later became the capital of Henan Province, helped by its location along the Beijing-Guangzhou railway line. Now it doubles as a transport hub.

XIA RUIXUE ZHENGZHOU, HENAN PROVINCE "Today, the inland city of Zhengzhou is implementing a three-dimensional traffic system and modern logistics system. The city hopes to become a link to all regions of China and bring more cross-border trade to the area."

Zhengzhou plans to use its strategic location to build a stronger regional logistics center. To accomplish this, the city launched its Zhengzhou-Germany cargo train service in 2013. Over the past six years, more than 938-thousand tons of cargo worth more than 9 billion U.S. dollars have been transported via the route.

SHI FENGHUA, VICE MANAGER ZHENGZHOU RAILWAY CONTAINER TERMINAL "In 2013, the trains made one round trip every week. Now they make eight."

In 2014, a new 'Air Silk Road' over Zhengzhou unlocked more potential trade with Europe. Now, cargo planes transport food, electronics and more from Zhengzhou to Luxembourg on one of 16 weekly flights. The products then enter local markets at favorable prices. They are also delivered to other provinces based on Zhengzhou's logistical advantages.

JACK YUAN, VICE PRESIDENT LUXEMBOURG PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE, HENAN CIVIL AVIATION "By building an air logistics eco-system and developing a supply chain finance system, we can create a hub economy and lure more resources to Zhengzhou, such as high-end manufacturing, service industry and finance and insurance companies. In this way we can upgrade our regional industrial structure."

Henan province used to rely largely on its agriculture. Now developing transportation and logistics systems in the capital city of Zhengzhou have allowed it to integrate into the world economy and become part of larger industrial chains. This, in turn, has paved the way for its future development. Xia Ruixue, CGTN, Zhengzhou, Henan province.