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2003-4-9 8:30:00
Booming economic development zones, scaffolds everywhere and detailed foreign investment guides -- like other places in China, the central province of Hubei is doing its utmost to attract overseas investors as part of its goal to make the province one of China's economic growth engines. "Central China must accelerate the pace of opening-up to the outside world and narrow the gap between central and eastern, coastal areas by taking advantage of the opportunities presented by Hubei," said Vice-Governor of Hubei Province, Han Zhongxue.
Hubei lies at the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and manytrunk routes, such as the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway and the "backbone" of the Beijing-Guangzhou railway, traverse its territory.
From the perspective of local officials, the geographic position -- connecting east and west and south to north -- is a unique advantage and a magnet for foreign investment. "If foreign investors want to tap the entire Chinese market, they cannot pass up the opportunities presented by Hubei," Vice-Governor Han Zhongxue said, "because both their procurement and transport can be handled within a reasonable distance here." "Moreover, the labor in Hubei is much cheaper than that of the relatively developed eastern and coastal areas," he added.
The eastern and coastal areas, competing with Hubei for foreign investment, opened up to the outside world much earlier, while the remote west has enjoyed preferential policies since 2001,when China initiated its western development strategy.
Unfazed by the fierce competition, Hubei has mapped out an ambitious blueprint to double its gross domestic product by 2010 on the basis of that in 2000, a goal that requires an average annual growth rate of 8 percent over the next five to ten years.
Han said that, in addition, a series of measures aimed at improving its investment environment and luring more foreign capital is being implemented.
Han noted that a number of key projects currently under construction in the province, including the Three Gorges Dam, the south-to-north water diversion project and the transmission of gas and electricity from the west to the east, will also inject new vitality into the economy.
To serve foreign investors better, Hubei has established special centers to deal with their complaints and settle their disputes, said Yin Hanning, Director of the Hubei Provincial Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (DOFTEC).
Yin said local governments will continue to streamline administrative procedures in order to lure more foreign investment to the province, in which only 41 of the world's 500 major companies have invested.
However, DOFTEC's statistics show that 486 new foreign-financed companies were established in Hubei in 2002, a 39.26 percent increase year-on-year. The first two months of this year also witnessed the establishment of 71 new foreign-financed companies in the province, a year-on-year rise of 54.35 percent.
The latest survey of 1,200-plus foreign-funded companies conducted by the Hubei Provincial Bureau of Statistics, revealed that foreign investors continue to be optimistic with regard to Hubei's prospects for development. The confidence level of foreign-funded companies reached 139 during the first quarter of 2003, while their prosperity index was 142.2.
Local governments are also optimistic about developing their economies. The provincial capital of Wuhan is planning to build the new Wuhan Economic Rim, Zhongxiang city in central Hubei is giving priority to expanding its tourism industry and northern Xiangfan city is working to make auto manufacturing one of its core industries.
Hubei reported about 497.6 billion yuan (60 billion US dollars)of GDP in 2002, an increase of 9.1 percent year-on-year.
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