Xinyu National Development Zone for High and New Technology Industry

WU MEILING, FU XIN & LU SHANPING

BACK in 2001, a national new technology industrial park was established in Xinyu City in central Jiangxi Province to spearhead the nations innovation efforts in new energy. Its creation marked a massive step forward for the development of new energy enterprises in Jiangxi and China as a whole, which has made strong headway in the area ever since.

The Xinyu National Development Zone is the only national industrial zone in the province with a high concentration of photovoltaic generation. Today, Xinyu National Development Zone for High and New Technology Industry is home to LDK Solar, the largest wafer producer in the world, along with many other major companies like Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co., Ltd, Huadian Power International Corporation Ltd., A-Tech Wind Power and Aster Graphics Co., Ltd.

The development zone places high priority on investment attraction and industrial cluster development. For the last few years it has been one of the top two places among industrial parks in Jiangxi in terms of all major economic indexes, and earned national level designations in a number of fields. They include the titles National Advanced Technology Industrial Park, National Model Base for Urban Mineral Development, National Base for Silicon Materials and the Industrial Application, National Quality Supervision and Inspection Center for Photovoltaic Basic Materials and Application Products, to name just a few.

In 2011, the development zone reported annual revenues of RMB 2.56 billion, a year-on-year rise of 134 percent, and won a national award for good labor relations in local companies.

Complete Infrastructure

Not only does the development zone have a complete infrastructure network that includes water, electricity, gas, communications and roads, it also offers facilities catering to the various life and work needs of its tenants. Sites such as trading markets, banks, shops, hospitals, and cultural and entertainment venues are distributed evenly around the area. The development zone also boasts convenient transportation and excellent logistics. It is only two to four hours drive to Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan in neighboring Hunan Province, cities around Poyang Lake and a conglomeration of cities centering on Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province. The Shanghai-Kunming Railway crosses the development zone from east to west and the ShanghaiKunming, the Jiangxi-Guangdong and the Wuning-Jian expressways pass right through it. Thanks to these numerous advantages many factories have moved to the area from the economically developed Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and eastern coast.

Superior Investment Environment

The local government offers an efficient one-stop service to enterprises for certification, license approval, and customs and tax rebate procedures. Preferential policies have lightened the burden of tax, which in some cases are exempted entirely. The government is also working to nurture venture capital funds and woo private investers, exploring and expanding financing channels for enterprises by combining the efforts of the government, banks, enterprises and private investors.

Abundant Human Resources

With 52 training institutes and over 100,000 students, the development zone enjoys the reputation as the biggest vocational training base in China. Local companies staff include some 500 employees with Masters degrees, and of those around 60 also have doctorates. They constitute five research teams that lead Jiangxis industrial innovation efforts in various fields. In addition, the development zone has more than 10 members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering on its list of consultants. These experts have provided strong support for the healthy development of the area.

Advantageous Industries

With a planned area of 100 sq km, the development zone is now home to more than 400 companies of different specialities. Photovoltaics, lithium battery, iron and steel, machinery, pharmacy and food industries have all reached significant sizes and have formed relatively complete industrial systems. Some resident companies working in photovoltaics, lithium battery and iron and steel are competitive nationwide. In addition, the sectors of security products and outdoor lighting are growing fast. The development zone is determined to attract more companies in these fields so as to build the area into a major security industry cluster and the nations outdoor lighting capital.

The development zone is sparing no effort in realizing the goal of increasing its industrial sales revenue to RMB 260 billion and fiscal revenue to RMB 8 billion by 2015. During the 12th Five-year Planperiod(2011-2015), Xinyu National Development Zone will remain committed to optimizing the industrial structure, enhancing technical innovation and developing key technologies. With all this potential for becoming a top-class industrial park in China, the zone welcomes businesses and investors from around the world to create success stories in their shared future.