Brief Introduction and Investment Enviroment of Hebei

Natural Environment

Hebei Province is located between 36° 05'to 42 ° 37' N and 113° 11' to 119° 45' E, lying in the North China Plain, stretching to the Inner Mongolia Plateau, and facing the Bohai Sea to the east Its neighbors include Beijing and Tianjin in the middle. The topography of the province slopes down from northwest to southeast while mountains, hills and plateau cover its territory in the northwest vast plains stretch over the central and southeastern part of its land. The coastline of the province is 487 kilometers long. It covers an area of 188 thousand square km with a population of 67.44 million. The province has a temperate continental monsoon climate which varies greatly due to its vastness, and most of the territory has clear-cut seasons. Its annual sunshine time is 2400-3000hours, annual frost-free period 120-200 days, annual precipitation 300-800mm, annual average temperature 0℃ -13 ℃ .

Administrative Districts

Main Economic Indexes of Hebei Province
Overall Advantages
Unique Geographical Location
Situated in the central part of the area around Bohai Sea and faces Japan and Korea across the sea Hebei province not only serves as a passage connecting Northwest provinces. This area, designated by the Chinese government as one of the major zones for opening - up and development, is becoming one of the best examples as far as the performance of reform and opening - up and the pace of economic development are concerned . As the only province surrounding Beijing and Tianjin , Hebei maintains long - standing ties with the two metropolises. Naturally, with mutual influence and infiltration in their economies the Jing - Jin  - Ji( Beijing - Tianjin - Hebei ) Economic Zone has been formed. This unique geographical location makes it possible to make use of the technology, trained personnel, funds and information in these two big cities and to integrate with enterprises in Beijing , Tianjin in many industries. Economic integration and interaction in this area will be steadily enhanced with the gradual establishment of the market economic system.

Rich Natural Resources for Industrial Development

Hebei province, with 6.4846 million hectares of cultivated land, is one of the major production bases of cereals, cotton and vegetable oils. Its coastal belt, with a surface of 1 million hectares and more than 200 kinds of marine organisms, serves as an important base of aquatic products in north China . Hebei is also among the major provinces with rich mineral resources in China . More than 116 minerals in deposit have been discovered so far, and reserves of 74 varieties verified, with those of 45 varieties taking the top ten places in the mainland provinces. These resources are widely spread and present a fairly systematic distribution which provides favorable conditions for building large complexes of iron and steel, building materials and chemical industry and developing coal chemical, salt chemical and petrochemical industries. Hebei is one of the provinces with most abundant tourist resources and takes the top place in terms of historical relics. With 670 historical relics under provincial or state protection, 58 of which under state protection, The imperial Summer Resorts and temples around in Chengde, the Royal Tombs of Ming and Qing Dynasty and the Great Wall are listed among the world cultural heritage. Eight key tourist lines around Beijing have been constructed in Hebei province, in which Beijing - Jinshanling - Chengde - Weichang, Beijing - Huairou - The first prairie north of Beijing in Fengning, Beijing - Huailai - Zhuolu - Zhangjiakou - Chongli - Guyuan - Chicheng, Beijing - East Tomb of Qing Dynasty - Tangshan - Qinghuandao, etc. features ecological environment with beaches, twittering birds, forestry, prairie, lakes ice and snow , hot springs integrated together as well as features local cultures, the other lines as Beijing - Xianghe - Wuqiao - Hengshui, Beijing - Zhuozhou - West Tomb of Qing dynasty - Baoding - Baiyangdian - Shijiazhuang - Xingtai - Handan and the Great wall special tourist line in Bebei embody the abundant cultural and custom characteristics, which are warmly welcome by tourists .

Convenient Transportation and Communications Based on Modern Science and Technology

Hebei Province situated in the area as a hub of communications through which Beijing connects itself with other parts of the country, After years of construction, a comprehensive transportation system integrated by land ways, seaways and airways, has been formed . There are 15 railways running through Hebei bringing its total rail freight to the first in all the mainland provinces. The 17 national trunks-roads extending across the province put Hebei in the second place among all the mainland provinces in terms of highway freight The total length of expressways in operation has extended to 1480 kilometers, ranking the second among the mainland provinces. Hebei enjoys convenient ocean shipping facilities. The four major major seaports lining up from north to south, are Qinghuangdao, Jingtang, Tianjin and Huanghua which is now under construction which is now under construction, with annual handling capacity amounting to 130 million tons. Shijiazhuang Airport , designated by the state as an international port, has medium sized cities at home, and airlines to Hong Kong and some CIS countries including Russia . The Shanhaiguan Airport in Qinhuangdao City has opened 25 lines to 17 cities at home. The Capital Airport of Beijing and the Tianjin International Airport are available to Hebei as well. With the rapid development of post and telecommunications, the domestic and international direct dial service and the mobile communication network are available in all the cities and counties of the province. The multimedia communication network, Yanzhao Information Bay has been made available for use. The convenient transportation and communications keep Hebei in close connection with each part of the world for the purpose of smooth international exchange and cooperation,

A Huge Market

With the constant increase of the urban and rural resident's income and the further improvement of the people's living standards, Hebei has formed a huge market. The total retail volume of social consumer goods increases rapidly. By 2000, the per residents in cities and towns reaches RMB5630 yuan while per capita net income of farmers, RMB 2478 yuan. The Jing - Jin - Ji Economic Zone, consisting of Beijing , Tianjin and Hebei with a consumer group of nearly 120 million and occupying over10% of the total market capacity in the mainland, is one of the largest markets in China. While acting as a center of commodity circulation for east China, south China and southwest China to connect with the "Three North Areas", e.g. northeast China, northwest China and north China, Hebei also serves as an important outlet to sea for the "Three North Areas" Ever since ancient times, Hebei has been known as a famous distributing center for all kinds of goods in north China. With the sustained development of the market economy, the market potential in this area will be brought into better play. Therefore, to make investments and establish businesses in Hebei can help you not only set foot in the local market but easily enter the markets in Beijing and Tianjin , and further explore the markets in the "Three North Areas".

Comprehensive Economic Strength and Powerful Production Capacity

During the "Ninth Five - year Plan" period, the social productivity and comprehensive economic strength of Hebei has marched into a new stage. The local GDP has increased by 11%annually, 2.7% higher than the nation's average growth rate; the per capita GDP has reached RMB7560 yuan, higher than the nation's average level, leaping to 11th place in the state. In 2000, the provincial GDP reached RMB507.6 billion yuan , representing an increase of 9.5% over the previous year and 1.5% higher than the nation's average growth rate. Today the status of agriculture as the foundation of the national economy has been further consolidated; the output of grain, cotton and edible oil stands of grain, cotton and edible oil stands in the front row of the nation. The agriculture industrialization operation has been promoted rapidly and the traditional agriculture is being replaced by the modern agriculture. A proper structure of industrial economy has been basically formed with chemical (medicine), metallurgy, building materials, machinery and foodstuff as the key industries. In 2000, 57 enterprises Hebei was listed among the nation's 1000 large industrial enterprises and a number of advantageous enterprises and famous - brand products have been fostered and developed. Many enterprises as North China Pharmaceutical Group, Shijiazhuang Pharmaceutical Group, Handan Iron & Steel Group Xuanhua Construction Machinery Group, China Lucky Film Corp, Hebei Bosoar Group, Xuri Group, lulu Group, Sanlu Group Co., Ltd Baoding Swan Chemical Fiber Group, etc. are well - known in their respective field in the state. Service industries as transportation and communications, commerce, tourism, information and consulting have also made great progress.

New Phase in International Economic and Trade Cooperation

Hebei province has so far established economic and trade relations with more than 160countries and regions and formed friendly ties with 47cites, states and provinces in the world. During "the Ninth Five - year Plan" period, the actual utilization of foreign funds had increased 2.3 times than that of in " the Eighth Five - year Plan" period. By the end of 2000, the actual utilization of foreign funds has amounted to US$ 12.4 billion and 8,963 foreign - funded enterprises have been registered. The foreign funds have come into such industries as energy , transportation, communications raw materials light and textile industries, machinery, electronics, raw materials ,light and textile industries, machinery, electronics, garments, agricultural and sideline products processing, services, tourism public facilities and real estate development. The overseas investors come from more than 80 countries and regions, with 34 among the World Top 500 transnational corporations. In order to adapt to the new opening - up situation, the present laws and regulations, management system and public polices are expected to be readjusted and formulated in accordance with regulations set up by WTO to form the management system progressively with stable policies, standard management and transparent operation. Policies and measures encouraging foreign investments shall be made or improved while restrictions for foreign funds coming into the market shall be reduced. Foreign - funded enterprises are expected to be gradually treated expected to be gradually treated equally with the national treatment. To attract more foreign funds, the provincial government shall simplify the approval procedures for the utilization of foreign funds , raise working efficiency, improve services and protect the legal rights and interests of the overseas investors To broaden the sphere of utilization of the foreign funds, cooperation with large transnational corporations, especially with the World Top 500 shall be strengthened by various means of utilizing foreign funds as purchasing, merging, investment funds and portfolio investment.

Profound Potentialities and More Investment Opportunities

In 2001, Hebei province began to implement "the Tenth Five - year Plan", the development in modernization construction is expected to stride forward by making development the major theme. Taking structure readjustment as the major link ,the new economic structure with Hebei characteristic shall be constructed with 15 leading industries including animal husbandry, vegetable production fruit industry, foodstuff, steel & iron, medicine, new building materials, machinery manufacture, chemical industry, tourism, towns construction, commercial circulation, non compulsory education, cultural industry, information technology and information industry getting full development During "the Tenth Five - year Plan" period, the annual average growth rate of the GDP of Hebei is expected to reach 8% -  - 9%. During this period and to the year 2010, Hebei makes it a chief task to conduct the key construction projects in the following ten respects as ecological environment construction, agriculture and agricultural industrialization construction, water conservancy construction, urban basic facilities construction, energy and transportation construction, high - tech industrialization, transformation and construction of the traditional industries, tourism construction, market construction and social undertaking constructions of education, culture and hygiene. In order to achieve the magnificent target of building itself an economically strong and modernized province, Hebei, taking China's entry into WTO as an excellent chance, will continue to take the strategy of "the economy by bringing into full play its geographical advantages and opening policy" as one of its principal strategies for economic development, trying to strengthen opening - up, extend the sphere and increase the amount of utilizing foreign funds and raise its quality and level in utilizing foreign funds by actively introducing advanced technologies so as to promote the opening-up to a new stage. At present, the emphasis of utilizing foreign investments is laid upon the following: Great efforts should be given to strength and solidify agriculture as basic foundation, develop energetically agriculture with advanced facilities, green agriculture, special agriculture, carry out "improved seeds varieties project" and establish a number of high - tech agricultural model gardens and quality agricultural products bases. Meanwhile, animal husbandry and fishery are also expected to get fully developed. Traditional industries are expected to be transformed and improved by adopting advanced practical technologies, especially informational technology and a number of key enterprises should be transformed focusing on trades of metallurgy, energy, medicine, chemical, complete sets of equipment, building materials, foodstuffs and textile. High-tech industries development shall be encouraged to accelerate the tempo of industrialization concentrating on the fields of electronic - information, bioengineering and modern pharmacology, new materials, optical electromechanical integration and environmental protection industry and the key projects constructions including broadband comprehensive information insert system, optical materials software developing, new Chinese - medicine preparation and gene engineering medicine should be also given more efforts. Traditional services as commercial distribution, transportation and communications and municipal service etc. are expected to be transformed and improved while modern services including information, law shall be greatly improved. With the successful implementation of the strategy for economic development in Hebei and the consequent rapid economic growth, more investment opportunities and more handsome returns will certainly be brought to foreign investors.