Hebei: 70 years on

Editor’s Note: Starting in May, the State Council Information Office has been organizing news conferences for each province, autonomous region and municipality to give briefings about their social and economic development since the founding of New China 70 years ago.

During the Hebei session held May 28 in Beijing, Wang Dongfeng, secretary of the CPC Hebei Provincial Committee, and Xu Qin, deputy secretary of CPC Hebei Provincial Committee and governor of the province, talked about Hebei’s development with reporters.

Economic growth

Hebei province’s GDP has increased by more than 880 times since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. In 2018, the added value of high-tech industries accounted for 19.5 percent of all industries above designated size, an increase of 1.1 percent over the previous year. Hebei’s industrial structure has also gained optimization over the years.

In 2018, Hebei’s GDP grew by 6.6 percent, with general public budget income increasing by 8.7 percent.

The first quarter of this year saw 7.4 percent growth in GDP, while the general public budget revenue grew by 13 percent. The added value of industrial enterprises above designated size increased by 8.8 percent and that of high-tech industry grew by 15.5 percent. Urban and rural residents’ per capita disposable income rose by 7.9 percent and 8.9 percent. Meanwhile, the fixed asset investment rose by 6 percent. The utilization of foreign capital and export volume saw growth of 10.6 percent and 12.3 percent.

People’s living standards

The income of urban and rural residents has changed greatly in recent years. The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents in 2018 was 119.5 times and 123 times that of 1978. Last year, 21 poverty-stricken counties with 650,000 people were lifted out of poverty. Meanwhile, 870,000 new jobs were created in urban areas, and the per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents increased by 8 percent and 8.9 percent.

In the first quarter of this year, 266,000 new jobs were created in urban areas, and the per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents increased by 7.9 percent and 8.9 percent respectively.

Opening-up

There were about 3,000 new national high-tech industries and enterprises added during 2017 to 2018. The contribution rate of the service industry to economic growth reached 65.5 percent in 2018. HBIS Serbia became an international cooperation model along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by playing an active role in promoting its construction. Last year, Hebei introduced 2,516 projects from Beijing and Tianjin with capital investment of 430.8 billion yuan ($61.06 billion), attracting more than 1,400 high-tech enterprises to settle in Hebei.

Living environment

The quality of the ecological environment in Hebei province has also changed greatly. Its PM2.5 was 56 micrograms per cubic meter in 2018, down 48 percent from 2013 and 14 percent from the previous year, which is the best result in the past six years. In the meantime, steady progress was also made in controlling water and soil pollution. From 2013 to 2018, the afforestation rate in the province reached 2.34 million hectares.