9.8.2001

 

HEBEI PROVINCE（河北省）

 

Economic Indicators

	1999		2000
Economic Indicators	Value	Growth	Value	Growth
		(%, y-o-y)		(%, y-o-y)
Area (sq km)	187,700	--	187,700	--
Population (mn)	66.1	0.7	^67.4	2.0
Gross Domestic Product (RMB bn)	456.9	7.5 *	507.6	9.5 *
Per Capita GDP	6,913	6.8	N/A	N/A
Disposable Income Per Capita
- urban (RMB)	5,365	5.4	5,661	5.5
- rural (RMB)	2441.5	1.5	2478.9	1.5
Fixed-assets Investment (RMB bn)	101.8	10.9	104.8	2.9
Added Value Output
- primary industry (RMB bn)	80.6	2.0	82.5	2.3
- secondary industry (RMB bn)	223.3	7.6	255.1	14.2
- tertiary industry(RMB bn)	151.9	10.6	170.0	11.9
Retail Sales (RMB bn)	145.9	9.5	161.4	10.6
Inflation (Consumer Price Index, %)	-2.2		-0.3
Exports (US$ bn)	2.7	1.9	3.3	22.2
- by FIEs (US$ bn)	0.8	11.1	1.0	25
Imports (US$ bn)	1.9	14.7	2.2	15.8
- by FIEs (US$ bn)	0.7	8.2	0.6	-14.3
Foreign Direct Investment
- number of projects	520	-25.3	492	-5.4
- contractual amount (US$ bn)	0.9	-29.8	1.2	33.3
- utilized amount (US$ bn)	1.0	-27.1	0.7	-42.6

Notes: *In Renminbi real terms               

 ^ Latest population census, 1999 figure was estimate based on previous survey.

Sources: Hebei Economic Yearbook and State Statistical Bureau

 

General Background

 

Hebei - abbreviated as Ji（冀）- is located in the northern part of the North China Plain, encircling Beijing and Tianjin, and lies on the coast of the Bohai Bay（渤海）.

 

Shijiazhuang（石家莊）is the capital of Hebei.  After expansion of the designated coastal open economic zones to include counties since 1985, Qinhuangdao（秦皇島）, Tangshan（唐山）, Cangzhou city（滄州市）, Changli（昌黎）, Funing（撫寧）, Lulong（盧龍）, Fengnan（豐南）, Luannan（南灤）, Leting（樂亭）, Tanghai（唐海）, Luanxian（灤縣）, Haixing（海興）, Huanghua（黃驊）, Changxian（滄縣）, Qingxian（青縣） have been opened to foreign investors and enjoy preferential economic policies.

 

Two major economic development belts have been developed in the province.  They are the Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei) Economic Ring（京津冀經濟圈）and the Bohai Bay Belt（環渤海經濟圈）.

 

Hebei is a major agricultural base in China.  In 2000, its agricultural and animal husbandry output were the fourth and second highest respectively in the country.  The province's output of fruit and milk also ranked very high in China.

 

Hebei is also a major producer of iron and steel.  In 1999, Hebei's output of iron and steel ranked the first and third in the country.  Besides, the province has rich reserves of marble, potassium sand shale, natural oilstone, titanium, dolomite and vermiculite.

 

Recently, Beijing is selected to host the 2008 Olympic game. As a result, the Chinese government will invest over RMB 100 billion in the next 6 years to improve infrastructures around the Jing-Jin-Tang area. Hebei is going to be benefited as well.

 

Infrastructure

 

Water Transport － Qinhuangdao is the fifth largest port in terms of cargo handling tonnage in China and the port's throughput was 82.6 million tons in 1999. In the first half of 2001, Qinhuangdao had handled over 50 million tons of cargos and the expected cargo handling tonnage is over 100 million tons. Qinhuangdao is also a hub for the transportation of coal from northern to southern China. The port provides shipping services to many countries and regions including Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong and Korea.   The Jingtang port（京唐港）, with a handling capacity of around 6.6 million tons, is planned to expand into a deep-water port with a view to provide convenient access to sea for the nearby regions.

 

Railways － Major railways in Hebei include the Jingjin railway（京津鐵路）line, Beijing-Guangzhou, Beijing-Shenyang, Beijing-Shanghai and Beijing-Baotao lines.  Beijing-Kowloon railway（京九鐵路）connects the province closely with Hong Kong and Macau.

 

The major section of the Shuozhou-Huanghua Railway is in operation.  The Shuozhou-Huanghua Railway, linking Shenchi county in Shanxi with Huanghua port in Hebei, will be the second major railway for coal transportation from west to east in China.  Besides, construction of an electrified railway from Qinhuangdao to Shenyang of Liaoning is in progress and the new Qinhuangdao-Shenyang railway is scheduled for completion in 2003.

 

Currently, a magnetic levitation train line connecting Beijing and Shanghai, which will also pass through Hebei, is under the study stage. This railway will tremendously improve transportation between two of China’s most important economic zones.

 

Highways －The province’s highway networks are all radiating out from Beijing, the transportation hub of Northern China. Major highways in the province include the Jing-Shi (Beijing-Shijiazhuang), Jing-Jin-Tang (Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu), Shi-Tai (Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan) and Tang-Jin (Tangshan-Tianjin) expressways.  Besides, a section of an expressway from Baoding（保定）to Shanhaiguan, linking Beijing and Shenyang has been opened recently.

 

As a result of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the central government is going to upgrade all the major highways in Hebei, Shandong and Shanxi.

 

Air Transport － There are 3 airports in Hebei including Shijiazhuang Airport, Qinhuangdao Airport and Xingtai Airport（刑台機場）, providing domestic and international flight services.

 

Telecommunications － Mobile phone services are available in major cities such as Shijiazhuang, Baoding, Handan, Xingtai, Hengyong, etc. and there were 1 million mobile phone users in the province in 2000.

 

In the Tenth Five-Year plan, Hebei is going to invest heavily in information technology. The province is aiming to have 7.6 million mobile phone users and 4 million internet users by 2005.   

 

Industries

 

In 2000, Hebei's industrial output totalled Rmb341.4 billion (+14.3%).  Pillar industries in Hebei included chemical, machinery, electronics, metallurgy and building materials.  Industries such as sanitary porcelain and plane glass were significant in the country and major industrial products included cotton, yarn, cement, steel and iron.  The North China Pharmaceutical Plant, locates in Shijiazhuang, is the major antibiotic producer in China with its output of penicillin ranking highest in the world.

 

In coming years, Hebei will actively attract foreign funds and introduce advanced technology in all production sectors.  The province aims to upgrade the overall productivity and product quality of its industrial enterprises and raise market competitiveness.  Meanwhile, Hebei also targets to boost the tertiary sector such as finance, banking, information services and tourism.

 

Tourism

 

Hebei is a popular tourist spot in Northern China with many historical memorials such as the Chengde Summer Resort（承德避暑山莊）, the Shanhaiguan Pass of the Great Wall（山海關）, the Beidaihe（北戴河）Summer Resort, the Eastern Tombs and Western Tombs of the Qing Dynasty. Beidaihe is the Camp David of China and the place has hosted many important politburo meetings.   

 

While the number of ancient remains and building complexes under the first class protection of the State shares the first place with Shanxi in terms of historical relics, the number of natural and historical landscapes ranks the second in the country.  In 1999, more than 414,000 tourists (+11.6%) visited the province and generated revenue of US$142 million (+14.5%).

 

Consumer Market

 

Retail sales of consumer goods in the province rose by 10.4% to Rmb161.4 billion in 2000.  The Jing-Jin-Ji Economic Ring, with a consumer group of more than 100 million people, is one of the largest consumer markets in China.  Major retail centres are located in Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, Qinhuangdao and Baoding.

 

Major department stores and shopping centres in Hebei include Shijiazhuang Beiguo Commercial City（石家莊北國商城）, Shijiazhuang Renmin Department Store（石家莊人民商場）, Shijiazhuang Dongfeng City Plaza（石家莊東方城市廣場）, Shijiazhuang Ximei Department Store（石家莊西美百貨商場） , Tangshan Department Store（唐山百貨大樓）, Qinhuangdao Hualian Commercial City（秦皇島華聯商城）and Baoding Department Store（保定百貨大樓）. 

 

Foreign Trade

 

In Jan-April 2001, Hebei recorded total trade of US$1.8 billion with exports of US$1.1 billion, an increase of 10.1%.  Major export items are clothing, steel and pottery.

 

In 2000, Hebei's exports totalled US$3.3 billion (+22.2%).  Major export goods included crude oil, cotton, yarn and fabrics, iron and steel, antibiotic and food. 

 

Imports rose by 15.8% to US$2.2 billion in 2000.  Major import products included fertilizer, chemi­cal raw materials, machinery and electronic products.  Major import sources were the EU, Japan, Republic of Korea and the US

 

Hong Kong is Hebei’s 5^th largest trading partner, after Japan, S. Korea, the U.S and EU. In 1999, Hebei exported US$392 million to Hong Kong, which ranked the 4^th, and imported US$ 15 million from Hong Kong.

 

Foreign Investment

 

In 2000, Hebei approved 492 foreign-invested projects (-5.4%) with contracted and actual utilized foreign investment of US$1.2 billion (+33.8%) and US$700 million (-42.6%) respectively.

 

Hong Kong is the biggest investor in Hebei. In 1999 Hong Kong signed 160 contracts with an amount of US$287 million. Other major investment sources were the US, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. 

 

Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, Baoding, Qinhuangdao are popular for foreign investment.  In coming years, foreign investments were encouraged in developing machinery, building materials, chemicals, textiles, pharmaceuticals, electronics, infrastructure and real estate development.

 

 

Economic Indicators of Major Cities (1999)

	Population	GDP	Industrial Output	Retail Sales	Actual utilized
Cities	('000)	(Rmb bn)	(Rmb bn)	(Rmb bn)	FDI (US$mn)
Shijiazhuang     石家莊	8,754    (+0.9%)	90.8  (+7.3%)	68.9    (12.2%)	29.7 (+10.8%)	426.1  (+24.8%)
Tangshan         唐山	6,941    (+0.6%)	83.1  (+6.7%)	52.4    (11.0%)	20.7 (+7.8%)	243.8  (+17.1%)
Baoding           保定	10,501 (+0.7%)	63.7  (+7.2%)	28.2    (11.9%)	20.7 (+9.5%)	150.3  (-35.9%)
Handan           邯鄲	8,210    (+0.7%)	49.7  (+6.4%)	28.0    (6.9%)	15.5 (+10.7%)	274.4  (+51.8%)
Cangzhou        滄州	6,591    (+0.8%)	42.3  (+5.0%)	20.2    (6.9%)	11.1 (+9.9%)	125.2  (+198%)
Qinhuangdao   秦皇島	2,644    (+0.6%)	26.3  (+5.6%)	14.9    (2.1%)	7.0   (-20%%)	170.8  (-12.9%)

Note: Figures in  (   ) represent year-on-year growth               Source: Heibei Economic Yearbook

 

Major Economic & Technological Development Zones (ETDZs)

 

1.        Qinhuangdao Economic and Technical Development Zone（秦皇島經濟技術開發區）

A state-level ETDZ established in 1984.  By end-March 2000, the zone approved 1,732 projects and 389 were foreign-invested with contractual foreign investment of US$1.3 billion.  Major foreign investment came from Germany, the US, the UK, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Republic of Korea.  The zone aims to boost such industries including chemicals, pharmaceuticals, metallurgical, machinery, electronics, textiles, fine chemicals and building materials.

 

2.        Shijiazhuang New- and Hi-Tech Development Zone（石家莊高新技術產業開發區）

Approved by the State Council as a state-level new hi-tech development zone.  Industries in the zone include electronic information, biochemical, new materials such as glass fiber reinforced plastic.  The zone also encourages investment in the fields of telecommunications, microelectronics, bio-chemicals and new materials, industrial projects with high added value.

 

3.        Baoding New- and Hi-Tech Development Zone（保定高新技術產業開發區）

Approved by State Council in 1992.  Major investments were engaged in the fields of infrastructure, electric automation equipment, fine chemicals, electronic information products, machinery and electrical integration, biochemical, precision meters and instruments.       

 

Other economic and technical development zones are located at Langfang（廊坊）, Tangshan, Zhuozhou（涿州）, Cangzhou, Shanhaiguan, Wuqiao, Huanghua, Beidaihe, Yanjiao, Nanbao, Shijiazhuang, Bazhou, Gaobeidian, Baiyangdian, Anping and Tangshan Seaport.