PR85828

CHANGSHA, China, Sept. 28, 2020 /Xinhua=KYODO JBN/--

Recently, China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone has been officially approved.

So far, 21 Free Trade Zones have been established in China.

The movement that Hunan joins into the framework of Free Trade Zone will

contribute for the coordinated development in Central China. Relying on their

advantageous locations, cities as Yueyang, Changsha and Chenzhou, have grown up

to be the corridor for international cooperation, investment and trade,

according to the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province. It is aimed to build

Hunan a world-class manufacturing cluster and a pilot zone for China-Africa

economic and trade cooperation.

Owing to the ancient Silk Road and the proposal of Belt and Road Initiative,

Hunan has come with a good foundation for economic trade cooperation with

Africa, as they share a high degree of industrial fit and strong market

complementarity. Hunan has been leading the way in economic and trade

cooperation with Africa at the level of provinces, cities and autonomous

regions. In 2019, Hunan not only successfully hosted the first China-Africa

Economic and Trade Expo, but also won the permanent residence of it. By hosting

the Expo, Hunan will be able to attract more investments and cooperations.

Based on the competitive industries, including equipment manufacturing, energy

and electricity, infrastructure and agricultural processing, Hunan is designed

to build logistics channels to Africa and explore Hunan mode for China's local

economic and trade cooperation with Africa.

In 2019, the total import and export value of Hunan exceeded 430 billion yuan

for the first time, reaching a record high. The growth rate of foreign trade

was 41.2%, ranking first in the country. Among which, the trade volume to the

countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative grew by 54%, and the

import and export volume reached 124.8 billion yuan.

Supported by the existing competitive industries, such as construction

machinery (SANY and ZOOMLION), railway transportation equipment (CRRC) and

intelligent equipment (SUNWARD), Hunan sped up the construction of innovation

platform and industrial Internet, and joined the international competition of

high-end equipment manufacturing and maintenance, so as to form new advantages

of participating in global industrial division competition and cooperation.

This is not only in line with the needs of China's sustainable development, but

also in line with the world's fourth industrial revolution featuring returning

to the manufacturing industry through intellectualization.

Source: The Department of Commerce of Hunan Province

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=372831 

   Caption: The Unveiling Ceremony & Constructing Mobilization Conference of China (Hunan)

Pilot Free Trade Zone