SHANXI PROVINCE
General Background
Shanxi
- abbreviated as Jin - is
situated at the east of the Yellow River and
west of the Taihang Mountains. It is a landlocked province bordering Hebei,
Henan, Inner
Mongolia and Shaanxi.
Shanxi's
capital is Taiyuan which
enjoys the same preferential economic policies as coastal open cities. Other major cities include Datong,
Yangquan, Changzhi, Jincheng
and Shuozhou.
Shanxi
has the reputation of the "Coal Warehouse of China". Its coal fields are among the largest
in China,
covering a total area of 64,800 sq km.
Major coal fields are located near Taiyuan
and Datong. Taiyuan
has developed a coal export system and become a major coal export base
for the country. In 1999,
the province's output of coal ranked the first in China
reaching 248.9 million tons and accounted for nearly one-fourth of the
country's total.
Infrastructure
Railways ¡ÐShanxi's transportation relies
highly on railways. The railway network connects Shijiazhuang
and Taiyuan; Beijing
and Yuanping; Beijing and
Baotou; Datong
and Menyuan; Taiyuan and
Jiaozuo. The province has completed seven double-track
electric railways extending to coastal ports such as Qinghuandao, Qingdao,
Yantai and Lianyungang.
Besides, the Shuozhou-Huanghua Railway has just opened
to traffic. The Shuozhou-Huanghua
Railway, linking Shenchi county in Shanxi
with Huanghua port in Hebei.
It will be the second largest railway for coal transportation from west
to east in China.
Highways ¡Ð With Taiyuan as the hub, the
highways in Shanxi form a road network linking all the counties in the
province. Major highway,
Dayun¡]Datong-Yuncheng¡^, connects the cities in south
and north of the province. The Taiyuan-Jiuguan Expressway, which
joins the Beijing-Shijiazhuang expressway and connects Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu
expressway and Beijing-Shenzhen expressway, leads to Beijing
and the region of Bohai Sea
rim directly.
In the Tenth Five Year Plan, Shanxi
is going to invest more to improve its highway transportation system.
The province is aiming to invest at least RMB 10 billion on highway
construction by end-2001.
Air Transport ¡Ð Taiyuan Airport provides civil air service which connects Shanxi with
more than 28 major domestic cities including Beijing, Xian, Chengdu
and Chongqing. International routes linking Shanxi
include Hong Kong, Singapore,
Russia
and Japan.
A new airport will be built in Datong
City. Datong has many
tourist attractions including the world-famous Yungang Grottoes. The airport will be able to accommodate
Boeing-737s and expected to be completed by end-2001.
Telecommunications ¡Ð At present, there were over 1 million subscribers for mobile phone services
.
There are also 210,000 internet users.
Electricity ¡Ð Shanxi's power industry boasts
an installed capacity of 9.2 million kWh and annual output of 52.6 billion
kWh. About 25% of the electricity
generated is transmitting to Beijing,
Tianjin and Hebei.
Currently, a new thermal power plant, the Wangqu power
plant, is under construction. This power plant is going to be the biggest
thermal power plant in Asia and its installed
capacity will be over 2.4 million kWh.
Gas Supply ¡Ð As part of the Great Western
Development Strategy, a major gas pipeline with total length of 4,200
kilometers will be built. The
pipeline will start from the Tarim
Basin in Xinjiang and ends
at Shanghai, running through
the provinces Gansu, Shaanxi,
Shanxi, Henan,
Anhui and Jiangsu
and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
It aims to deliver gas from the country's western area which
were major gas production bases to central parts as well as Yangtze
River Delta areas and the eastern regions.
Industries
Development of heavy industries is strong in Shanxi,
particularly for energy and chemicals industries. In 2000, industrial output in Shanxi
totalled Rmb122.5 billion and heavy industries accounted for more than
80% of the total. Industries
are mainly located at Taiyuan,
Datong and Changzhi.
Taiyuan Iron and Steel Works is the largest base for
special steel in the country with an annual output capacity of over
2.7 million tons of steel. Aluminium
industry is becoming one of the pillar industries of Shanxi.
Shanxi
also concentrate on machinery and electronic industries. A few of large- and medium-sized enterprises
such as the Taiyuan Heavy Machinery Group Company, Taiyuan Mining Machinery
plant and Yuci hydraulic component Plant are famous in the country.
Besides, the province also develop a wide range of industries
including coke, mining equipment, machine tools, automobiles, metallurgy,
chemical fertilizer, printing, paper-making, food and textile.
Tourism
There are 7 major tourism centres in Shanxi
including Taiyuan, Datong,
Wutai Mountain,
Linfen, Yuncheng, Shangdang and Yangquan. Hu Kou Water Fall of Yellow River, Datong
Yungang grottoes, holy land of Buddism - Wutai
Mountain and the temple for
the Chinese War of God-Guandi Temple, Xuankong
Temple, Yingxian Wooden Pagoda,
the shrine of Jin, are some of the famous scenic spots.
In 2000, the province attracted 165,300 tourists (+20.0%)
and generated revenue of US$50 million (+16.3%). Besides, Shanxi
will co-operate with other 9 provinces and autonomous regions in establishing
a tourism information network and arranging a tourism fair bi-yearly. Concerned parties include Qinghai,
Sichuan, Gansu,
Shaanxi, Henan
and Shandong provinces,
as well as Inner Mongolia and Ningxia Hui autonomous
regions.
Consumer Market
Retail sales of consumer goods in Shanxi
rose by 7.2% to Rmb62.9 billion in 2000.
Major consumer markets are located in Taiyuan,
Datong and Changzhi.
Major department stores and commercial centres in Shanxi
include Taiyuan Tianlong Group, Taiyuan Wuyi Department Store, Taiyuan
Department Store, Datong Department Store, Changzi Department Store
and Jincheng Department Store.
Foreign Trade
Shanxi's
exports increased by 40% to US$2.1 billion in 2000. Major export goods were coke and coal, accounting for
60% of the province's total. Other
export products included textiles, metals, minerals, chemical, etc. Major export markets were the US,
Japan,
Republic of Korea,
and Germany.
Imports dropped by 12.5% to US$700 million in 2000. Major import goods included iron grind,
machinery, electric equipment, chemicals, etc. Major import sources were the US,
Hong Kong, Australia,
Germany
and Japan.
Hong Kong was not among
the top ten biggest trading partners with Shanxi. In 1999, the total amount of trade between
the two was US$24 million. Shanxi
exported US$ 20 million worth of goods to and imported 4 million from
Hong Kong.
Foreign Investment
In 2000, Shanxi
approved 71 foreign-invested projects (-10.1%) with contracted foreign
investment of US$262 million (+12.0%).
The province actually used more than US$225 million (-42.4%)
of foreign capital in the year.
Hong Kong was the fourth
biggest investor in the province. In 1999, Hong Kong
investors signed 20 contracts with Shanxi
with contractual amount of US$ 347 million. Foreign investments mainly
engaged in infrastructure projects, light industrial products, food,
metal products, textiles and garments, machinery and electronics. Other major sources of foreign investment came from Taiwan,
the Virgin Islands and the US.
In coming years, foreign investment are encouraged in
the fields of telecommunication, transportation, electricity, energy
raw materials, infrastructure construction including two power plants,
the Yangcheng, and the Yangquan, and the Wanjiazhai water control project.
To boost the development of the central and western regions
in China,
the State Council has granted further tax incentives to foreign-invested
enterprises (FIEs) in China. Under the existing policy, FIEs are entitled
to a three-year tax reduction and exemption. The new policy allows foreign-invested enterprises in the central
and western regions to enjoy another three years of preferential tax
rate when the current preferential term expires. The tax rate can be further reduced to 10% if an enterprise
is proved to export more than 70% of its annual output in terms of value.
Economic Indicators of Major
Cities (1999)
|
|
Population
|
GDP
|
Industrial Output
|
Retail Sales
|
|
Cities
|
('000)
|
(Rmb bn)
|
(Rmb bn)
|
(Rmb bn)
|
|
Taiyuan
|
2,994 (+1.2%)
|
33.3 (+3.1%)
|
27.4 (+1.9%)
|
13.6 (+7.9%)
|
|
Datong
|
2,756 (+1.2%)
|
15.7 (-8.2%)
|
11.3 (-10.3%)
|
7.3 (+7.4%)
|
|
Changzhi
|
3,099 (+0.7%)
|
15.4 (+1.3%)
|
9.6 (-0.0%)
|
3.7 (+5.7%)
|
|
Jincheng
|
2,100 (+0.8%)
|
13.2 (-4.3%)
|
6.6 (+1.5%)
|
4.1 (+5.1%)
|
|
Yangquan
|
1,235 (+0.5%)
|
9.1 (-3.2%)
|
7.2 (-4.0%)
|
3.2 (+6.7%)
|
|
Shuozhou
|
1,349 (+1.0%)
|
7.7 (-7.2%)
|
5.8 (-5.0%)
|
3.1 (+10.7%)
|
Note: Figures
in ( ) represent year-on-year growth
Source: Shanxi
Statistical Yearbook
Major Economic & Technological
Development Zones (ETDZs)
Taiyuan Hi- & New- Technology Industrial Development
Zone was approved by the State Council in 1992 and the only state-level
development zone in Shanxi.
Foreign investments are encouraged in the sectors of
electronics and information technology, machine and electricity integrated
technology, biological engineering technology, new material technology,
the technology for radiation, new energy resources and highly efficient
energy-saving and environment protection, medical science and basic
material science, and other new techniques and technology.
Yuncheng Economic and Development Zone was approved by
the State Council in 1992 with an initial investment of RMB 670 million.
Currently, there is one industrial zone and14 small trading zones, with
over 4,000 enterprises and over 24,000 workers. In 2000, the zone¡¦s
GDP was RMB 3.1 billion.
Other development zones
in Shanxi include :
1.
Datong
Economic & Technology Development Zone
2.
Yuci Economic & Technology
Development Zone
3.
Changzhi Hi- & New- Technology
Industrial Development Zone
4.
Fenglingdu Economic & Technology
Development Zone
5.
Yangquan
Economic & Technology Development Zone
6.
Jincheng Economic and Technology
Development Zone
7.
Shuozhou Economic and Technology
Development Zone
8.
Jinzhou
Economic and Development Zone
9.
Huaxin Economic and Development
Zone
10.
Linfen Economic and Development Zone
Economic Indicators
|
|
1999
|
2000
|
|
Economic Indicators
|
Value
|
Growth
|
Value
|
Growth
|
|
|
|
(%,y-o-y)
|
|
(%,y-o-y)
|
|
Area (sq km)
|
156,300
|
--
|
156,300
|
--
|
|
Population (mn)
|
32.0
|
1.0
|
33.0 ^
|
2.9
|
|
Gross Domestic Product (RMB bn)
|
150.7
|
1.5 *
|
164.0
|
7.7 *
|
|
Per Capita GDP (RMB)
|
5,117
|
0.5
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
|
Disposable Income Per Capita
|
|
|
|
|
|
- urban
(RMB)
|
4,342.6
|
5.9
|
4,724.1
|
8.8
|
|
- rural
(RMB)
|
1,772.6
|
-4.6
|
1,905.6
|
7.5
|
|
Fixed-assets Investment (RMB bn)
|
41.3
|
7.6
|
45.7
|
10.7
|
|
Added Value Output
|
|
|
|
|
|
- primary
industry (RMB bn)
|
17.6
|
-15.0
|
16.8
|
-4.5
|
|
- secondary
industry (RMB bn)
|
87.9
|
1.7
|
83.6
|
-4.9
|
|
- tertiary
industry (RMB bn)
|
57.7
|
7.7
|
63.6
|
10.2
|
|
Retail Sales (RMB bn)
|
58.7
|
7.3
|
62.9
|
7.2
|
|
Inflation (Consumer Price Index, %)
|
-3.2
|
|
3.9
|
|
|
Exports (US$ bn)
|
1.5
|
-12.3
|
2.1
|
40
|
|
- by
FIEs (US$ bn)
|
0.08
|
-20.0
|
0.15
|
87.5
|
|
Imports (US$ bn)
|
0.8
|
95.1
|
0.7
|
-12.5
|
|
- by
FIEs (US$ bn)
|
0.3
|
312.5
|
0.27
|
-10
|
|
Foreign Direct Investment
|
|
|
|
|
|
- number
of projects
|
79
|
-21.8
|
71
|
-10.1
|
|
- contracted
amount (US$ bn)
|
0.2
|
-42.7
|
0.3
|
12.0
|
|
- utilized
amount (US$ bn)
|
0.4
|
60.0
|
0.2
|
-74.1
|
Notes: * In Renminbi real terms
^Latest population census, 1999 figure was estimate based
on previous survey.
Sources : Shanxi Statistical Yearbook
and State Statistical Bureau
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