Talking about Hunan Province, people naturally think of its pleasant climate, fertile soil and abundant water resources.

With such advantages, agriculture was a long-time pillar of the local economy, accounting for half of its total strength.

That situation changed last year, with the province resolving to develop modern industry. "Industry is the area that Hunan lacks, and industry is the hope for the future," explains Zhang Chunxian, Party secretary of Hunan Province.

Based on this new strategy, the province achieved industrial added value of 266.78 billion yuan last year, up 16.8 percent year-on-year. With that, industry overtook agriculture, accounting for half of the local economy.

The province's rapid industrial growth has been maintained and is even faster this year. In the first eight months, industrial added value reached 165.06 billion yuan, up 22.2 percent, a growth rate ranking it the 10th among Chinese provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.

Thanks to this policy, Hunan is transforming itself into an advanced manufacturing base in central China, focusing key sectors such as construction equipment manufacturing, information technology, iron and steel, tobacco processing, new materials, biopharmaceuticals, food, petrochemicals and papermaking.

The province has developed 28 famous Chinese brands and 19 famous products, ranking it top among central China's six provinces. Six Hunan companies, including China Valin Group, are among the top 500 Chinese firms.

In addition, the provincial capital of Changsha is Central China's only State-level software production base, while Zhuzhou is China's largest cemented carbide manufacturing and export base.

Looking to the future, the province will establish 50 industrial bases, strengthen the competitiveness of 100 key enterprises, and implement 300 projects, each with an investment of over 100 million yuan.

By the end of 2010, the province aims to raise its industrial added value to 390 billion yuan, with an annual growth rate of 12 percent.

In the first half of this year, its GDP hit 393 billion yuan, up 14.2 percent year-on-year. This was also the 14th quarter in a row in which the province maintained a growth rate of above 11 percent. From January to June, the agriculture, industry and service sectors grew respectively by 4.3, 17.1 and 14 percent year-on-year.

Market demand enjoyed steady growth. In the first eight months, fixed-assets investment amounted to 244 billion yuan, up 35.3 percent year-on-year, while the total volume of actual retail sales hit 211.8 billion yuan, up 17.6 percent. Meanwhile, the province's import and export value reached $6.3 billion, up 42.1 percent.

In the first eight months of this year, actual foreign investment reached $2.2 billion, up 34.2 percent, while actual domestic investment was 80.3 billion yuan, up 38.4 percent.

In the meantime, the government has been focusing on building a harmonious society by enhancing residents' incomes. The incomes of urban citizens and rural people grew respectively by 16.2 and 14.3 percent last year.

(China Daily 10/17/2007 page24)