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Economy in the Industrial Belt around Hangzhou Bay

(zhejiang.gov.cn)
Updated: 2006-11-17 10:46

In early 2003, the Provincial Commission and Provincial Government
proposed the strategic decision to voluntarily bring Hangzhou in line
with Shanghai, to actively participate in the regional cooperation and
exchanges in the Yangtze River Delta, to grasp opportunities to go all
out for the construction of the industrial belt around Hangzhou Bay, to
hammer out the ��Golden South Wing�� in the Yangtze River Delta, and to
give full play to Hangzhou Bay Region��s guiding effect in its
integration with Shanghai and in the practice of opening up. The
strategic goal is to make the Hangzhou Bay Region the assembling area of
the advanced manufacturing bases in Zhejiang Province and a strikingly
vigorous modern city cluster in the Yangtze River Delta.

The Around-Hangzhou Bay Region (hereinafter abbreviated as Hangzhou Bay)
is located in the northeast part of Zhejiang Province and on the south
wing of the Yangtze River Delta whose center is Shanghai. It consists of
six municipalities (namely, cities divided into districts) including
Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing and Zhoushan. The land area
is 45.4 thousand square meters, which accounts for 43.8% of the total of
the province and 45.3% of the land area of the fifteen cities along the
Yangtze River Delta. Hangzhou Bay Region has a permanent population of
24.36 million (as per census 2000), accounting for 53.0% of the total
population in the province and 29.6% of that in the Yangtze River Delta.
Urbanization level of its residents reaches 50.87%, which is more than
1/3 above the national average. According to the Report on China's Urban
Competitiveness issued by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, all the six
cities in Hangzhou Bay are on the list of the 50 most competitive cities
in China. Hangzhou Bay is the most developed area in terms of economy in
Zhejiang Province and is also a crucial constituent of the Yangtze River
Delta.

With excellent natural condition and abundant economic resources,
Hangzhou Bay Region boasts a large gross economic volume and a high level
of development. Hangzhou Bay Region is one of the highly developed and
most vigorous areas in our country. Especially since the reform and
opening up, the speed of economic growth in all the cities in Hangzhou
Bay Region has been ranking high in the country.

Currently, all the cities and counties along Hangzhou Bay have
established a batch of large-scale industrial clusters, such as timber
industry in Jiashan, leather and warp knitting industries in Haining,
chemical fiber and textile industries on Xiaoshao Plain, home appliance
industry in Cixi, tie factories in Shengzhou, plastic products industry
in Yuyao and garment factories in Ningbo. Theses industries have occupied
strong positions in markets home and abroad. Take the chemical fiber
industrial cluster for instance, of the top 30 enterprises in terms of
sales revenue in the country, eight are located in Hangzhou Bay Region,
making it one of the most important chemical fiber industrial clusters in
China. What's more, the well developed chemical fiber industrial cluster
provides textile industry along Hangzhou Bay with a strong upper stream
industrial chain. The output of textile and fabric produced in Shaoxing
county alone account for more than 15% of the national total.

High-tech industries are growing up in Hangzhou Bay region too. In the
area which centers around Hangzhou and radiates along both banks of
Qiantang River toward Shaoxing, Ningbo, Jiaxing and Huzhou, aggregate
more than 70% micro-electronics enterprises in the province. A
distinctive system of co-operation based on division of work has been
developed. The scale of information products manufacturing industry in
Hangzhou Bay Region accounts for over 80% of the provincial total and the
scale of software industry accounts for over 90% of the total, and this
region has become a new IT industry base in addition to Beijing, and
Shanghai, etc.

According to Zhejiang Province��s Development Programming for the
Industrial Belt around Hangzhou Bay, with Hangzhou Bay as the pioneer,
Zhejiang will take the initiative in bringing itself more in line with
Shanghai in such aspects as infrastructure, informatization construction,
division of industry, energy exploitation and utilization, and
environmental protection etc. Moreover, Zhejiang Province will try hard
to accelerate economic integration in the Yangtze River Delta area. The
framework for industrial development in the industrial belt around
Hangzhou Bay can be summed up as: grasp such trends as the acceleration
of the transfer of international industrial grads and industrialization
of scientific and technological achievements, the interaction and fusion
of the three industries, clustering development and the intensification
of differentiated competition; on the basis of the advantage of regional
block economy with distinctive features, take advantage of such resources
as harbors and tidal flat; utilize second-mover advantage to reconstruct
and upgrade the conventional and feature industries with competitive
edges; vigorously develop hi-tech industries and develop heavy and
chemical industry in harbor areas; choosing industries with favorable
basic conditions, large space for growth, strong leading influence, large
market shares and high profitability, integrating their relative
advantages, and reconstructing relevant industries and develop zones;
intensifying the construction of innovative, talent and circulation
platforms; fostering the five key industrial clusters including
electronic information, modern pharmaceuticals, petrochemical, textile
and garment, and developing them into ��pillar industries�� so that they
can exert an even stronger influence on the province��s participation in
international economic competition; vigorously supporting the six growing
industrial clusters including transportation facilities, advanced
equipment manufacturing, new metal materials and products, paper making
and paper products, home appliances and equipment and food processing and
manufacturing; interactively developing the modern service industry and
agriculture; generating a new industrial system featuring open
cooperation, integrated innovation, dynamic optimization and high
efficiency and low consumption between the industries and between the
industrial clusters.

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