The Socio-economic Development of Ordos-新华丝路

鄂尔多斯

Bordered by Shanxi, Shaanxi and Ningxia provinces, the city of Ordos (meaning numerous palaces) is located in the southwest of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. The total area of the city is 87,000 square kilometers with a population of 2.04 million, out of which only 199,000 are indigenous Mongolians. The city, administering seven banners and two districts, has a long cultural history. It was the cradle of the well-known Hetao culture and Bronze culture. The land is rich in resources; there are more than 50 kinds of minerals. The fossil fuel deposits include a staggering 210 billion tons of coal and 4.95 trillion cubic meters of natural gas in proven reserves, accounting for 1/6 and 1/3 of the national total reserves respectively.

Ordos was formerly known as Ih Ju League. Following an approval of State Council and a withdrawal of Ih Ju League, it was established as a prefecture-level city in 2001. In the past 16 years, Ordos has achieved remarkable results in economic and social development. In 2016, the city’s regional GDP reached RMB 441.8 billion with an average annual growth of 18.6%, ranking 35th in the national prefecture-level cities. This figure was 15.4 times than that of 2000 (RMB 15 billion). At the same time, its public budget revenue reached RMB 45.1 billion with an average annual growth of 23.3%, ranking 28th. This figure was 27.7 times than that of 2000 (RMB 1.57 billion). In addition, the income of urban and rural residents reached RMB 40,221 and RMB 15,480, respectively, ranking 27th and 49th nationwide. The main economic indicators maintained their lead in the region and the city’s economic strength was ranked among the Midwest cities in China. After 30 years of reform and opening up, the central government deems Ordos as one of the 18 areas and five cities that study and pursue “Scientific Developmental Outlook”.

With 75% vegetation coverage, 26.7% forest coverage and 321 days of excellent air quality in a year, Ordos is one of the best summer resorts in northern China. In the summers, the average temperature of the urban core of the city remains 21℃. There are 25 A-Category tourist attractions in the city. Amongst these, named after city’s landscape, Kangbashen has become the first 4A tourist attraction. Given these statistics, the city’s urbanization rate has reached 73% and it has won various titles, including National Civilized City, National Health City, National Green Model City, National Forest City, National Garden City, National Social and Comprehensive Management Outstanding City. It has also won the title of “National Double Support Model City” for four consecutive years.

The total highway mileage of Ordos is 23,000 km, of which 2399 km is high-grade highway; the number accounts for more than one-fifth of the total mileage of the region. The total operating mileage of railway is 2001 km. Ordos Airport is the first 4E-level regional airport in North China, and regularly reaches 41 Cities. While experimental reforms such as National resource based economic innovation development comprehensive reform and the first batch of ecological civilization demonstration zone are in steady and orderly process, Ordos has won the honor titles of National Scientific and Technological Improvement Advanced City, National Sustainable Development Experimental Zone and China’s Best Growing Competence Innovative City successively.

In recent years, the annual livelihood investment of Ordos accounted for more than 80% of the public financial expenditure budget. It implemented poverty alleviation, employment, education, health care, culture, social security and other key livelihood projects that firmly kept the urban registered unemployment rate within 2.9%. Ordos became the first in the region to implement 12-year free education. As a result, its level of basic education is amongst the best of the region. Ordos has also taken the lead in implementing “Painful now, may pay off later” system in the region. The public hospital reform is proceeding smoothly and all drugs are sold without added profit. The city also achieved “one township, one hospital” benchmark in rural and pastoral areas. It has successfully created the national public cultural service system demonstration area, and has built public cultural service network, which covers both the urban and rural areas. By changing the focus of livelihood work to vulnerable groups and rural pastoral, the urban and rural social security system has been established. In Ordos, urban and rural subsistence allowances, old-age insurance and healthcare financing, five guarantees support, orphan support and other standards are higher than the average levels in the region while some indicators have escalated to top ranking in the country.

Since the beginning of this year, the administration of the city has been conducting an in-depth analysis of a series of significant speeches delivered by the President Xi Jinping. The essence of the speech delivered by the President during his visit to the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, firmly laid out the new development philosophy of “Innovation, coordination, green development, openness and sharing”. The speech also endorsed full implementation of the spirit of the 10th Party Congress of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the Second Plenary Session of the 10th Meeting of Party Committee of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. With rigorous efforts, the socio-economic development of the Municipal is now presenting an encouraging trend featured with general stability, steady progress, and promising prospects.

In the first half of this year, Ordos is expected to register GDP of RMB 220 billion, fixed assets investment of RMB 147.5 billion, an above-scale industrial added value of RMB 98.4 billion, public budgetary revenues of RMB 23.21 billion, total consumer goods retail sales of RMB 36 billion, an urban per capita disposable income of RMB 21,323 and a rural per capita disposable income of RMB 6,796, with respective growth rates of 7.3%, 12%, 7.5%, 21.4%, 10%, 7.9% and 8%.

1. Expediting Industrial Transformation through Project Construction: By late June, Ordos had resumed or commenced 243 out of 304 key projects with a respective investment of more than RMB 100 million and a total completed investment of RMB 48.8 billion. In the first half of this year, Ordos further improved the level of modern agriculture and animal husbandry development, sped up the supply-side structural reform of agriculture and animal husbandry. The administration further optimized the production in regional and operation structure of agriculture and animal husbandry, comprehensively initiated the construction of the national modern agriculture demonstration park and 100 model villages for industrial restructuring, and extended the development chain of resource-based industries.

The projects, including the overall planning of Nalin River Orefield, BEGCL 4 billion m3 Coal-to-gas Project and SPIC 800,000t Coal-to-olefin Project were approved by the nation. The Yitai 2,000,000t Coal-to-liquid Project was commenced, Zhongtian Hechuang 1,370,000t Polyolefin Project (Phase II) reached its designed capacity, and Yitai 1,200,000t Fine Chemical Project went into trial production. Ordos was designated as the largest of the four national modern coal chemical industry demonstration zones.

Ordos’ strategic emerging industries further expanded in scale as 43 out of 51 “seven-industry” projects were commenced or resumed, with a total completed investment of RMB 11.04 billion. Big data projects, including China Unicom Cloud Base, China Telecom Cloud Base and Ant Maker Platform, were also matured in Ordos. Key projects, including Ordos High-purity Polycrystalline Silicon Project, Hangjin Banner Balagong PV Power Generation Project, Jiuke Environmental Industrial Park Project, HMB Helicopter Manufacturing Project, BOE Display Project (Phase II), Accenda Anti-Cancer Drug R&D Base and Shibo International Health City Project, were advanced smoothly.

The city also reached cooperative agreements with Israel Corporation, JD Group and other enterprises in fields such as new energy vehicles and big data center construction. In the first half of this year, the contribution of non-coal industries to Ordos’ above-scale industrial growth reached 71%, and an industrial system of diversified development and multi-pole support was established at an exemplary pace. Ordos also sped up the development of modern service industries. According to the deployment of the Conference on Tourism for Development of Inner Mongolia, Ordos accelerated the building of a national one-for-all tourism demonstration zone, comprehensively advanced 111 key tourism projects, completed the construction of Eqian Banner “1+6” Red Tourism Education Base and also put it into operation, and accelerated the construction of Gathering Paradise (Phase II), Grassland Silk Road Town-Kangzhen and other key projects.

In the first half of this year, Ordos received 5.88 million tourists with a growth rate of 22.6%. The city has become one of the most popular tourist destinations in China. It reached cooperation agreements with major enterprises like Tewoo Group and Huochebang. The Shenhua Multimodal Transport Smart Logistics Park also broke ground. The Ordos’ logistics intelligence level was also improved comprehensively.

2. Construction of “Seven Networks” and Consistent Improvement in Developmental Conditions: Since the beginning of this year, 69 out of 89 “seven-network” projects were commenced or resumed, with a total completed investment of RMB 13.35 billion. In rail network, a major breakthrough was achieved in the preliminary work of Baotou-Ordos-Xi’an High-speed Railway while the compilation of the feasibility study report has been under way. The Hohhot-Jungar-Ordos Railway Passenger Line was opened to traffic in late July. Moreover, the connection line of Dongwu-Baoxi Railway, Yanhe Railway, Jungar-Shuozhou Railway and other railways are likely to go into operation within this year. In highway network, the preliminary work in the reconstruction and extension of Hohhot-Ordos Highway and the Dongsheng-Baotou section of Baotou-Maoming Highway was basically completed. The construction of Nineteen highways, including Dafanpu-Longkou Highway and Tongshi-Chengchuan, also got started.

In air network, the construction of Ordos International Airport was advanced rapidly with nine international routes launched. In addition, the Eqian Banner General Airport Project was approved. Regarding energy network, West Inner Mongolia-South Tianjin and Shanghaimiao-Shandong power transmission channels were opened up and some auxiliary power units broke ground. The construction of gas pipeline transport projects, including Fourth Shaanxi-Beijing Line and Daqin Line, was made more efficient.

In water network, the progress of Jungar Banner Wanjiazhai Yellow River Water Diversion Project and Yellow River Flood Prevention Project (Phase II) gathered more pace. In communication network, 50% of the laying works of the second dedicated optical cable from Beijing to Ordos was completed; the project is estimated to be fully completed within this year. In municipal network, Ordos completed an investment of RMB 1.12 billion in municipal pipe network construction. The construction of the integrated underground pipe gallery of Dongsheng District was also initiated.

3. Reform and Innovation with Consistent Buildup in Developmental Synergy: Ordos is determined to fully implement the five structural reform tasks of the supply-side policy, including plans to withdraw the outdated coal production capacity of 4.95 million tons. Till date, 7 coal mines with outdated capacity have been discontinued. The city is looking forward to consume the real estate inventory of 1.65 million square meters. Furthermore, the city has been deepening the reform of the government services and integrated administrative law enforcement while increasing the number of market entities of all kinds by 19,300.

From January to May, RMB 970 million of corporate tax was reduced, while RMB 750 million electricity cost was saved. The administration assisted renewable and extended bank loans worth RMB 8.46 billion. The Ordos High-tech Zone was upgraded to the state-level, and the Integrated Tariff-free Area was officially approved. The municipalities including Huhhot, Baotou and Ordos are to collaboratively develop, with regional collaborative progress further consolidated.

4. Protection and Development of Ecological Civilization: The city is geared towards deepening the implementation of the national key ecological construction projects and the greening project of “four zones” (Coastal Development Zone, along the Yangtze River Development Zone, Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou-Ningbo Development Zone and the Shanghai-Hangzhou Development Zone) through complete artificial afforestation of 1.84 million mu, and construction of new flower landscape of 5.15 million square meters. This has been ventured as a great effort to build grandeur, elegance, landscape, horticulture, and quality of the city. Regarding developments in environmental protection, 55% cases reported by the central environmental protection inspectors have been rectified, and environmental renovation tasks of Qipanjing and the west of Inner Mongolia have been started. The preparatory work for the 13th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and Kubu’s International Desertification Forum is in good and sequential progress. The excellent and good rate of atmospheric environment quality has reached 88%.

5. Following People-Centered Approach and Improving People’s Well-Being: From January to June, the city invested RMB 21.22 billion in people’s livelihood and social undertakings, which accounts for 80.1% of the public finance budget. The city is also implementing the criteria of targeted poverty alleviation. Since Hangjin Banner no longer met the requirement, it exited after the corresponding acceptance check. The registered urban unemployment rate is now controlled within 2.9%. Moreover, special actions have been launched to deal with the long-pending cases regarding perdition letters, inspection and confiscation of firearms and explosives, and pornography, gambling and drug abuse. As a result, eight categories of major criminal cases dropped by 14.3%, and petition letters in the city and banners have decreased by 11.9%.

The city administration is committed to implementing all policy decisions of the central and the autonomous regions. In order to fortify foundations, seize opportunities and meet challenges, various tasks shall be completed throughout the year:

I. Construction of Major Projects:

In the current year, 304 major projects worth millions of RMB shall be carried out. The procedures including application, check, acceptance, opening and operation of projects are being promoted in order to start projects, such as Eancang Gas Pipeline, Mengximei Gas Production and Transmission Pipeline, etc. In order to define actual investment volume, the city is focusing on projects including Yitai Coal-to-Liquids, Beikong Coal-to-Gas and Supporting Power Supply Points of Power Channel. It has been ensured that the 22 key industrial projects should smoothly go into operation as planned within the year. The city is also focusing on increasing investment promotion and capital introduction, organizing the 2nd Mongolia District Business Conference well, and introducing large and good projects that are conducive to emerging industries. Such initiatives are deemed helpful in achieving the goal of attracting 60 billion RMB investments.

II. Removing Excess Capacity, Consolidating Inventory, Reducing Leverage Ratio, Lowering Cost and Addressing Weaknesses

The city is focusing to increase Monetary Housing Compensation for achieving shanty transformation of 16,000 households, and consuming real estate inventory of 5 million square meters. The administration has been planning to expand the scale of direct financing, encourage companies to go public, guide enterprises through the transfer of property rights, asset replacement and other means to vitalize resources. On similar lines, it is guiding banks, asset management companies and enterprises to carry out market-oriented debt-to-equity swap, and reduce corporate debt ratio and leverage ratio. The administration is therefore conscientiously implementing policy measures of the central and autonomous regions to reduce costs and add efficiency. The administration has also been in the process of canceling a number of administrative fees at the municipal level.

III. Fostering New Growth Areas in the Economy

It has been ensured that efforts in the “seven-network-construction” (namely aviation network, railway network, highway network, water conservation network, city infrastructure network, natural resource network and information network) and the “seven-industry-development” (to be specific, industries regarding new materials, new energy, high-end equipment manufacturing, biotechnology, energy efficiency & environmental protection, traditional Mongolian medicine & pharmaceuticals, and big data & cloud computing) should meet the targets. The city is determined to carry out its economic development mainly through “seven-network-construction” and the “seven-industry-development”, contributing to clean energy and modern coal chemical industries, and developing equipment manufacturing, electronic information, high and new technology and other emerging strategic industries. The need to raise the service levels of modern service industries, such as cultural tourism, modern logistics, health care for the elderly, e-commerce and the Internet Plus action plan have been fully considered. In order to create new drivers and impetus for economic growth and raise the quality and benefit of economic development, the administration is carrying forward the supply-side structural reform and encouraging agriculture and animal husbandry to achieve economies of scale through development and branding.

IV. Deepening Opening-Up Reforms

The city is engendering efforts to promote reform in key industries and focus attention on priority reform tasks according to instructions by General Secretary Xi Jinping. It has been implementing the administration reform for streamlining administration, delegating powers, improving regulation and services, pursuing a creative development plan for resource-based economy, constructing the ecological civilization demonstration zone, and bringing about other major reforms in state-owned enterprises and pasturing areas effectively. Further steps have been ensured in opening up reforms by proactively implementing the Hohhot-Baotou-Ordos Integration plan, cooperating with relevant departments to formulate the Development Planning of Hohhot-Baotou-Ordos-Yulin City Cluster, and advancing the development of Hohhot-Baotou-Ordos-Yulin City Cluster. The administration is resolute to work together with Hohhot and Baotou to establish an inland pilot free trade zone.

V. Improving People’s Living Standards

The administration of the city is making supervision a more comprehensive process by ensuring that people receive help in reducing poverty, starting businesses and employment. Moreover, it is safeguarding a proper life for people who have emerged from poverty, reducing new impoverished population in a timely manner, and guaranteeing an increase of 20% in income for city-level impoverished population. The number of new urban jobs is to be increased to 29,000 with a registered unemployment rate of urban area within 3.1%, and the minimum subsistence security for the urban residence growing by 6%.

VI. Safeguarding Risks

The city’s administration is also implementing the responsibility system in order strictly monitor risks involved in credit financing, private lending, the real estate industry and government debts. Rigorous investigations are being conducted to improve key industries in terms of environmental protection. Further improvements have been planned according to the feedback from the central inspection team of environmental protection. To ensure the overall safety and stability of the city, the administration is ready to deal with complaints and maintain social stability in a proper manner, ensure safety in production, tighten supervision over food and drug safety and exercise social management in a more effective way.

VII. Preparing for Celebrations and Conferences

The administration is resorting to well-designed plans for undertaking the 13th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP13) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and Kubuqi International Desert Forum (KIDF). It is also organizing a successful celebration of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region to display the best of Ordos to the rest of China and the rest of the world.

In conclusion, the city is going to firmly establish the concept of political consciousness, overall consciousness, core consciousness and par consciousness. It is looking forward to practically and thoroughly implement the decisions and deployments of the Central Government and the People’s Government of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It is planning to steadily carry out various tasks for growth stabilization, reform promotion, structural adjustment, livelihood improvement and risk prevention. It is pledging the continuous, stable and healthy socio-economic development for warmly and proudly welcoming the successful convening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and for celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.