Regional capital speeds up its globalization, modernization

Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its establishment this year, and the capital city of Yinchuan is making the most of the occasion to demonstrate its charm, vitality and development to the outside world.

The regional capital is speeding up its globalization and modernization by implementing a number of national strategies.

It has also been seeking to expand in overseas markets and attract foreign investment by promoting the construction of an inland opening-up pilot economic zone.

China's central government approved the construction of the Ningxia Inland Opening-up Pilot Economic Zone in 2012. The zone enhances cooperation between China and the countries in Central, South and West Asia in terms of trade, commercial logistics, key industries and cultural and human resources exchanges.

In June, the government of Yinchuan, a core area of the pilot zone, released a construction plan for transportation, internet technology, industrial parks, expositions, ports, e-commerce, business environment and its comprehensive free trade zone, further related to opening up.

Transportation, for example, has always been an important area for the city government to improve, as historically, landlocked Ningxia has had poor transportation infrastructure that has hampered its development.

To remedy this, Yinchuan is aiming to build an integrated comprehensive transportation hub in the aviation sector, with its Hedong International Airport serving as the centerpiece of the project. The airport will become a regional aviation hub opening up to the west on the Silk Road Economic Belt.

According to the city government, it will also build a well-developed rail network to better play its role as a pivot city of the China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor.

The city plans to pour more resources into digital economy and Internet Plus, as well as to provide greater support to the application of the narrow band internet of things and 5G mobile network. High-quality internet services will be offered to countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative to help promote their trade, economic cooperation and communication.

Over the past 60 years, particularly in the past four decades after the reform and opening-up policy had been put in place, Yinchuan has made remarkable achievements in social and economic development.

The city's GDP rose from 84 million yuan ($12.26 million) in 1958 to 180.32 billion yuan in 2017, an average annual growth rate of 9.8 percent. Its import and export volume last year reached 27.06 billion yuan, up 65.6 percent over the previous year.

In the first quarter of this year, its GDP reached 38.11 billion yuan, an increase of 8.1 percent year-on-year; the retail sales of consumer goods totaled 13.59 billion yuan, up 7.1 percent.

The industrial structure of Yinchuan also became more rational and balanced, with increased proportions of secondary industries and the service sector.

Emerging industries, such as new materials, new energy and e-commerce, have seen rapid growth in the city these years.