How important is northern Anhui on the regional economic map?
Where are the shortcomings in the development of northern Anhui?
What is the breakthrough point for the revitalization of northern Anhui?
Why the "big corps" operation?
These four questions are being asked by the outside world, and Anhui is also asking.
In Anhui, there is no piece of land that has attracted special attention like northern Anhui. Today, Uncle Ce set his sights on northern Anhui and tried to answer these "four questions".
Optimization map of the urbanization area pattern of Anhui Province (Source: "Anhui Provincial Land and Spatial Planning (2021-2035)")
01
One question: How important is northern Anhui?
Northern Anhui is a thick land, with 37.8% of the province's area, carrying 48% of the province's population, is an important plate in Anhui's regional development pattern.
The northern Anhui region of Anhui covers 6 prefecture-level cities of Huaibei, Bozhou, Suzhou, Bengbu, Fuyang and Huainan, as well as 4 counties (cities) of Dingyuan, Fengyang, Mingguang and Huoqiu of Lu'an City in Chuzhou City. If promoting the high-quality development of Anhui is a chess game, then the revitalization of northern Anhui is undoubtedly a key move in this game of chess.
Why is it so important in northern Anhui?
First, northern Anhui is an important plate in Anhui and even the Yangtze River Delta, including the Huaihe River Basin, which is less than 2.8% of the country's land area, produces 13% of the country's grain, and feeds 1/8 of the country's population. This is the "industrial granary" and power town of East China, and half of the electric lights in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai are lit in northern Anhui.
With the in-depth implementation of national strategies such as the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta and the rise of the central region, the northern Anhui region has become a "strategic point" for the country to promote regional coordinated development.
Third, there is a huge space for development in northern Anhui. Northern Anhui is close to the three provinces of Sulu and Henan, and is an important zone connecting the Yangtze River Delta and the central region. Northern Anhui gives full play to the advantages of location, transportation, development space and market scale, and plays an important role in accelerating the construction of a unified national market and integrating into the domestic and international dual circulation.
In May 2023, Han Jun, Secretary of the Anhui Provincial Party Committee, emphasized that the northern Anhui region has an important position and prominent role in the overall situation of the province's reform, development and stability, and that without the modernization of northern Anhui, there will be no modernization of the province
Speeding up the revitalization of northern Anhui has always been a strategic task related to the overall development of Anhui Province. As early as 2001, Anhui Province set up a coordination group to accelerate the development of northern Anhui, and for more than 20 years, it has successively introduced four "10" policies, as well as a series of policies and measures such as north-south twinning cooperation, and actively strive for national special policy support, and strive to promote northern Anhui to keep up with the pace of high-quality integrated development of the province and the Yangtze River Delta.
After more than 20 years of hard work to catch up, various undertakings in northern Anhui have shown a spiral upward trend, and have made structural changes and historic progress. Especially since the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the gap between the main economic indicators of northern Anhui and the whole province has been narrowing. In July 2023, at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 11th Anhui Provincial Party Committee, it was clear that the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta and the comprehensive revitalization of northern Anhui were two major events that must be grasped well, and a timetable was set for the revitalization of northern Anhui: by 2027, northern Anhui should keep up with the pace of development of the province.
At present, northern Anhui has a future, and it should also make great achievements. However, from the perspective of the province and even the Yangtze River Delta provinces, there are still shortcomings in the development of northern Anhui that cannot be ignored.
Fuyang City
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Second question: Where are the shortcomings in the development of northern Anhui?
Northern Anhui is also a scorched land, with GDP accounting for less than one-third of the province's total, and per capita GDP lower than the provincial average, which is still the biggest shortcoming in regional coordinated development.
To analyze the shortcomings of the development of northern Anhui, we must first objectively look at the current situation of northern Anhui.
The first is the low level of economic aggregate and per capita GDP. In the main economic data table of the 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta in 2023, the economic aggregate of Fuyang, Suzhou, Bozhou, Bengbu, Huainan and Huaibei ranked 26th, 29th, 30th, 32nd, 37th and 38th respectively, and in terms of per capita GDP, they ranked 34th, 36th, 37th, 39th, 40th and 41st respectively.
The second is the low rate of industrialization and urbanization. In 2022, the industrialization rate in northern Anhui will be 29.4%, 1.2 percentage points lower than that of the whole province, and the industrial added value will only account for 26.6% of the province. Directly related to the low rate of industrialization is the low rate of urbanization. In 2022, the urbanization rate of permanent residents in northern Anhui will be 49.7%, more than 10 percentage points lower than that of the whole province.
Third, the industrial structure needs to be upgraded urgently. The industrial structure of northern Anhui is strong, and the leading enterprises in the manufacturing industry are mainly concentrated in the fields of chemical industry, renewable resources, and liquor. In 2022, the number of industrial enterprises above designated size in the six cities of northern Anhui accounted for 27.34% of the province's total, but the proportion of revenue was only 19.37%, and the proportion of profit was 23.72%.
Fourth, there is a lack of landmark industrial clusters. Taking 2022 as an example, the number of industrial enterprises above designated size in the six cities of northern Anhui is less than 2,000, of which less than 1,000 are in Huaibei, Bozhou, Bengbu and Huainan. Among the top 100 manufacturing enterprises in Anhui in 2022, a total of 12 companies from the six cities in northern Anhui are on the list. With the exception of Fuyang, the other cities ranked low in the province. Among the top 100 private manufacturing enterprises, 18 are on the list in northern Anhui, and there is a lack of 100-billion-level industrial clusters in prefecture-level cities and 10-billion-level industrial clusters in counties, and the impressive development of "landmark" characteristic industries is insufficient.
Fifth, the agglomeration of high-end elements is insufficient. Listed companies and industrial funds are the "barometer" of the activity of financial capital in a region, and they are also the direct embodiment of the agglomeration of high-level factors. However, there is only 1 listed company in Fuyang and Bozhou in northern Anhui, and Suzhou is still 0. At the same time, at the county level, among the 22 counties included in northern Anhui, more than 10 counties have not yet produced listed companies, and have not achieved a "zero breakthrough" so far. In terms of parks as an industrial carrying platform, among the top 30 development zones in the province, only Bowu Modern Industrial Park, Fuhe Modern Industrial Park, and Jieshou High-tech Zone are on the list in northern Anhui, and the platform carrying capacity is insufficient. In terms of entrepreneurs, there is no echelon of entrepreneurs, and there is also a lack of leading entrepreneurs.
What are the reasons for the lack of development in northern Anhui? There may be many answers, but in the final analysis, it points to the shortcomings of the industry. Only with the rise of industry can northern Anhui gain lasting momentum for high-quality economic and social development.
Bengbu City
03
Three questions: What is the breakthrough point for the revitalization of northern Anhui?
In March 2023, soon after Han Jun, secretary of the Anhui Provincial Party Committee, took office, he conducted a non-stop investigation of the northern Anhui region. So, what industrial clusters should be exerted in the underlying logic of the development of northern Anhui?
In 2023, Anhui formulated an implementation plan to support the construction of key industrial clusters such as automobiles and parts, new materials, new energy, and high-end green food in northern Anhui. The 2024 Anhui Provincial Government Work Report pointed out that it is necessary to "focus on the construction of key industrial clusters such as automobiles and parts, new energy, new materials, and green food, concentrate resources, strength, and tackle key problems, and strive to quickly form scale advantages and competitive advantages in northern Anhui." ”
From the comprehensive analysis of the resource conditions and industrial base of northern Anhui, automobiles and parts, new materials, new energy, and high-end green food are the industrial tracks that should be focused on in northern Anhui.
First of all, look at the automobile and parts industry. The automobile industry is the first industry in Anhui, and at present, Anhui has built an industrial cluster with remarkable results. In 2023, Anhui Province's automobile production will reach 2.491 million units, ranking second in the country, and the output of new energy vehicles will reach 868,000 units, rising to the fourth place in the country. Anhui's strong growth momentum of building an internationally competitive new energy vehicle industry cluster has provided huge development opportunities for northern Anhui.
In September 2022, BYD's new energy passenger car parts project with a total investment of 10 billion yuan was settled in Funan County. The entry of large-scale leading enterprises will attract upstream and downstream supporting enterprises in the industrial chain to follow up investment, effectively promote the improvement and agglomeration of the automobile and parts industry chain in northern Anhui, and form a competitive industrial cluster. For the cities and counties in northern Anhui, it is necessary to find the right coordinates in the first industry, give full play to their respective advantages, and embed all aspects of it.
Next, let's look at the new energy industry. At present, Bengbu, Suzhou, Huaibei, Fuyang and other cities in northern Anhui are accelerating the agglomeration of new energy photovoltaic industry and establishing a certain scale of industrial foundation. Relying on the advantages of mineral resources, Fengyang County has gathered 2 of the top 10 domestic photovoltaic module shipments and 2 of the top 5 photovoltaic glass production capacity, with an annual photovoltaic glass production capacity close to 1/4 of the country, and is moving towards the goal of building a "100 billion Silicon Valley". Northern Anhui has the foundation of the traditional energy industry, but also has a wealth of wind, solar, biomass and other new energy resources, providing conditions for the development of the new energy industry, coupled with large land space, wide market hinterland, can be integrated into the big cycle, link the dual cycle to expand the market space of the new energy industry in Anhui Province.
The third is the new material industry. Northern Anhui has been deeply cultivated in the field of new material industry for many years, and has laid a good foundation, forming a new material base such as Fuyang advanced chemical industry, non-ferrous metals, Bengbu silicon-based, bio-based, Huaibei aluminum-based, etc., and will amplify the advantages of existing industrial characteristics in the future to obtain higher added value.
Fourth, the green food industry. The green food industry is an industry with traditional advantages and resource base in northern Anhui. Han Jun particularly emphasized in the investigation of northern Anhui that agriculture is also a high-tech industry, and it is necessary to not only pursue output, but also pay more attention to efficiency and quality. At present, Anhui is speeding up the construction of a high-quality and efficient agricultural province, to build the Yangtze River Delta green agricultural products production, processing and supply base, northern Anhui is an important position, the development of green food industry conditions are unique, to do a good job in the "grain head and tail", "animal head and meat tail", "agricultural head and worker tail" value-added articles, to promote the construction of green food industry clusters in northern Anhui to make substantial progress as soon as possible.
In general, in the selection of industrial tracks, northern Anhui should achieve its own advantages and industrial trends "with both hands". After clarifying the industrial track, what should northern Anhui do next?
Anhui Huaibei High-tech Industrial Development Zone automotive wiring harness products production enterprises
04
Q4: Why do we need to carry out the "big corps" operation?
At present, the development trend of industrial clustering is obvious, and the industrial development of a place is often cultivated and grown in accordance with the echelon of "head enterprises-industrial chain-industrial clusters-industrial ecology", which has become a general law of local industrial development.
Previously, Han Jun pointed out in Suzhou City that there are "small, scattered and weak" problems in industrial development, which points out the problem of small scale and low concentration of industrial clusters in northern Anhui. Therefore, the industrial development of northern Anhui must be in accordance with the idea of cultivating and building industrial clusters.
Industrial clusters are often not limited to one region, which leads to the second problem, which is to promote regional coordination and form a joint force.
At present, industrial development must gather strength, once the energy is dispersed, nothing can be done. For example, in planning and formulating industrial directions, it is difficult to scientifically position the development of the industry only from its own perspective, lacking a strategic height and macro vision. In terms of information and resources, it is difficult to establish direct and effective communication channels with the senior management of large leading enterprises, and it is also difficult to provide preferential policies and financial support that are sufficient to attract large enterprises. It is difficult for each city to achieve inter-regional coordinated development and optimal allocation of resources, and it may also cause waste of repetitive construction.
Wang Qingxian, governor of Anhui Province, pointed out during his investigation in northern Anhui that the sense of coordination should be enhanced, geographical division should be broken, and "collectivization" and "large corps" operations should be implemented.
Therefore, it is necessary to grasp the new trend and new requirements of building a modern industrial system, carry out systematic planning and layout of northern Anhui as a whole, and organize central enterprises, private head enterprises, and provincial enterprises to form a joint fleet.
Kaisheng Haofeng's settlement in northern Anhui is a vivid case under the operational thinking of the "big corps". Kaisheng Haofeng Agricultural Group is a subsidiary of China National Building Materials Group, one of the world's top 500 central enterprises, and a national key leading enterprise in agricultural industrialization. In 2023, Kaisheng Haofeng reached an agreement with Anhui Province to invest in the construction of modern facility agriculture projects in Anhui, and the agreement intends to sign 22 projects with a total investment of about 3.2 billion yuan, most of which are located in northern Anhui.
Strategically, it is necessary to make overall plans, and tactically it is necessary to divide troops to attack. In the past ten years, an important experience in the rise of Anhui's industry is to set up an industrial special class, which can achieve in-depth research on specific industries and gather relevant resources. At the same time, it can integrate the resources of various departments and levels to achieve efficient cross-departmental and cross-field collaboration. The special class mechanism has a high degree of flexibility and response speed, and makes decisions quickly according to the new situation and new problems in the process of industrial cluster construction.
So, how can we fight and win the tough battle of this "big corps" operation?
Industrial development is inseparable from projects, and to fight the tough industrial battle in northern Anhui, we must first grasp the project. "Grasping big projects and big projects" has become the consensus of all cities and counties in northern Anhui. But how did the project come about?
For northern Anhui, it is necessary to strive for projects to settle in northern Anhui from the national level, especially from the layout of central enterprises. It is necessary to seize national strategic opportunities such as the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, give full play to the advantages of location, transportation, market and resources in northern Anhui, and take the initiative to attract projects. At the same time, it is necessary to increase efforts to strive for the layout of projects in northern Anhui in the province, and actively encourage local enterprises to expand investment in new projects.
What should I do when the project comes? The answer is to make the park platform bigger and stronger, and build a carrier for the landing of industrial projects. From the perspective of platform carrying capacity, the competitiveness of the park in northern Anhui is not strong, and the degree of industrial agglomeration is not high. In the next step, it is necessary to build a number of industrial parks with industrial agglomeration, distinctive characteristics, leading technology and vitality, and promote the agglomeration of key industrial projects and resources to the park.
Of course, the industrial revitalization of northern Anhui is inseparable from the two key points of "people" and "money". To make up for the shortcomings of financing, we must be good at giving full play to the power of capital, combining the actual situation in northern Anhui, referring to the experience and practices of Hefei and other places in the province, and exploring a fund investment model suitable for northern Anhui. In addition, it is necessary to vigorously promote enterprises in northern Anhui to move towards the capital market and change the current status quo of few listed enterprises in northern Anhui.
It is necessary to make up for the shortcomings of the talent team. For the revitalization of northern Anhui, "people" is the key. From the perspective of talent support, the attraction of talents in northern Anhui is insufficient. In the next step, we should focus on four types of talents. The first is the introduction of expert talents, the second is the flow of labor resources, the third is the exchange of cadres, and the fourth is the cultivation and growth of entrepreneurs.
To promote the revitalization of industries in northern Anhui, "time and potential" are forming. This morning, the promotion meeting for the construction of key industrial clusters in northern Anhui will be held in Bengbu, which is not only a meeting, but also a charge for the industrial battle in northern Anhui. I believe that northern Anhui will be able to win the tough battle of industrial revitalization, and the future of northern Anhui will be better.
We bless northern Anhui!
Guidance: Zhang Daogang, Wang Yunbao
Written by: Hu Lei
Editor: Wang Muyin
Review: Ji Haitao
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