Hubei achieves high-quality development in 2018

Hubei province in Central China has achieved high-quality development, according to the government work report released by Wang Xiaodong, provincial governor of Hubei, on Jan 14 during the second session of the 13th Hubei Provincial People's Congress.

Hubei's provincial GDP was expected to rise 7.8 percent year-on-year, a growth rate higher than the national average level. The service industry's contribution rate to economic growth reached 54.7 percent, while tax revenue accounted for 74.5 percent of total revenue from local general public budgets.

Poverty alleviation in the province has gained great momentum as 1.06 million people were lifted out of poverty in 2018 and poverty incidence has been lowered to below 2.4 percent.

Hubei's pollution prevention made progress in the past year. The concentration of PM 2.5 in urban areas decreased by 9.6 percent.

The added value of the high and new technology industry increased by 12.8 percent year-on-year. Three more national high-tech zones were added in Hubei province, along with more than 1,200 high tech enterprises. The total transaction amount of technical contracts in 2018 exceeded 120 billion yuan ($17.35 billion).

Achievements in promoting innovation-driven development were made, including the establishment of China Information and Communication Technologies Group Cooperation (CICT) in Wuhan in July 2018, the breakthroughs of 3D NAND flash memory technology and the launch of Shenhai Yihao (Deep Sea No 1), which works in tandem with Jiaolong in deep sea exploration.

The provincial government's institutional restructuring was advanced steadily and restructuring at municipal level was carried out in 2018. An official application for a government affairs service called E'huiban was launched, allowing people to handle 150 services online.

China (Hubei) Pilot Free Trade Zone made over 200 achievements in institutional restructuring, setting up 22,000 new companies. A total of 13 world's top 500 companies have been introduced into Hubei province.

Hubei has also devoted efforts to improving people's livelihoods, creating 920,000 new jobs in urban areas, renovating 240,000 sets of shanty houses and 130,000 dangerous houses in rural areas, and ensuring drinking water safety of 3.5 million rural residents.

The government work report also pointed out Hubei's development goals for 2019. It is expected that regional GDP will grow by between 7.5 percent and 8 percent. The number of new jobs created in 2019 will amount to 700,000. Hubei will fully meet the country's targets for energy conservation and reduction of emissions in 2019.

Hubei will continue to work on poverty alleviation, benefiting 900,000 people, 800 villages and 17 counties.

The province will accelerate the renovation and upgrading of traditional industries along with the cultivation of emerging industries. Cities such as Wuhan, Xiangyang, Yichang and Xiaogan are being encouraged to build innovative demonstration platforms for civil-military integration.

It will also push forward the deep integration of modern manufacturing and modern services, supporting Wuhan to become the center for international exhibitions and a famous software city in China. Meanwhile, Xiangyang and Yichang are being encouraged to develop into key cities in modern supply chain systems.

Cross-border e-commerce will be further developed in Wuhan, Xiangyang, Huangshi and Ezhou, and Wuhan will be built into a consumer center in inland China. Hubei will build 33 "all-for-one" tourism demonstration zones.

Effective investments in Hubei province will be expanded. Over 270 new projects, each worth over 1 billion yuan will start construction and 36 projects, including a pathway crossing the Yangtze River, are expected to be listed on the State planning list.

Hubei will consider providing a fair and orderly business environment, promoting the high-quality development of State-owned enterprises and sustained growth of private companies.

The document said that Hubei will promote cross-regional cooperation to improve regional and industrial distribution while boosting the quality of urbanization.

A rural revitalization strategy will be carried out to accelerate the development of modern agriculture and push forward reforms in rural areas.

Hubei will keep developing its China (Hubei) Pilot Free Trade Zone, maintaining high-level opening-up and increasing scientific and technological innovation capacities.

As a province lying in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, Hubei emphasizes the importance of green development. It will continue to contribute to the green development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and improve long-term mechanisms for environmental protection.

The development of Hubei province in 2019 will still be people-oriented, bringing more benefits to local residents. More jobs will be created and the province will provide fair and high-quality education. It will also develop culture, radio, television and sports industries to enrich people's lives.