I. Basic Profile of the Zone

The Xiangxi High-tech Industrial Development Zone is a provincial-level high-tech zone administered by the Prefectural Party Committee and Prefectural People's Government of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao autonomous prefecture. Construction kicked off in July 2004. Its former names include Jifeng Industrial Park, the Jifeng Economic Development Zone and the Xiangxi Economic Development Zone. The People's Government of Hunan Province approved and recognized it as a provincial-level high-tech industrial development zone in February 2019.

Xiangxi High-tech Industrial Development Zone presents a complete aerial view of its modern industrial layout.

The zone covers a designated boundary area of 1137.85 hectares divided into nine blocks. It exercises trusteeship over one subdistrict namely Jifeng subdistrict with a permanent resident population of 40,000. State and provincial authorities have awarded it a series of honorary titles including the Xiangxi National High-tech Industrialization Base for Manganese Deep Processing, Hunan Autonomous Prefecture Base for Biological Industry, Hunan Demonstration Base for New-type Industrialization and Hunan Pilot Zone for Integrated Informatization and Industrialization. It also holds the title of Hunan Advanced Unit for Domestic Investment Attraction.

In 2022, the zone ranked third among all provincial industrial parks in the Greater Xiangxi region in the comprehensive assessment of Five-Good Parks covering 133 industrial parks at the provincial level and above and received commendation as an advanced park. The provincial government granted it an inspection incentive for solid progress in building Five-Good Parks. In the 2021 innovation development performance evaluation of 46 high-tech zones across Hunan province, it claimed the 11th spot and lifted its ranking for two consecutive years.

II. Core Industries and Distinctive Advantages

The Xiangxi High-tech Industrial Development Zone adheres to its development positioning as an innovation highland and new industrial district in recent years. It is fostering an industrial system led by massive health industries, featuring new materials and electronic information sectors and supported by modern service industries.

The massive health industry is experiencing sustained growth. The liquor industrial chain led by Jiugui Liquor and Snow Beer is expanding at a fast pace. The ethnic pharmaceutical industry spearheaded by Hongcheng Pharmaceutical is also experiencing rapid expansion. Meanwhile, the Massive Health Industrial Park in the eastern zone is seeing accelerated construction and has gained recognition as Hunan Biological Industry Base.

The new energy and new material industry is accelerating transformation and upgrading. Authorities are pushing forward the development of the Xiangxi National High-tech Industrialization Base for Manganese Deep Processing. Xiangxi Fengda Alloy Technology, claims an 80.7 percent domestic market share in manganese nitride exports and ranks first worldwide in this segment. The enterprise has also won the title of national specialized sophisticated innovative small giant enterprise. Construction is proceeding smoothly on the lithium battery project operated by Huamei Xingtai.

The electronic information industry is growing from scratch and forming competitive sectors such as electronic components, e-cigarettes and smart optoelectronics. Zhongkang Electronics has become the first enterprise in Hunan Province to obtain a production license for exclusive e-cigarette manufacturing.

At present, the zone hosts two national-level R&D platforms, 22 provincial-level R&D platforms and two academician workstations. It operates two national incubators, one national maker space, five provincial incubators and one provincial technology transfer demonstration institution. A total of 48 high-tech enterprises settle within its boundary.

III. Economic Indicators of the Zone in 2022

In 2022, the zone recorded a regional GDP of 8.46 billion yuan ($1.24 billion) with a year-on-year growth of 4.5 percent. The added value of industrial enterprises above designated size reached 4.84 billion yuan, rising 8.2 percent year on year. It achieved total industrial, commercial and technical revenue of 22.1 billion yuan, marking a 10 percent annual increase. Completed fixed asset investment hit 5.45 billion yuan with a year-on-year growth of 1.8 percent.

The zone accommodates 163 enterprises above designated size including 60 industrial enterprises above designated size. Its tax output per mu stood at 159,000 yuan and the land development rate reached 80.45 percent. The total volume of import and export trade hit 1.35 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 20 percent.