Striving for "National Level", Two Provincial Capitals in Central China Make Deployments on the Same Day

On July 8, the promotion conference for Zhengzhou's construction of a national new-type industrialization demonstration zone was held. An Wei, Member of the Standing Committee of the Henan Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Zhengzhou Municipal Party Committee, attended and delivered a speech. An Wei pointed out that advancing the construction of the national new-type industrialization demonstration zone is a crucial supporting pillar for Zhengzhou to fully strengthen its advanced manufacturing sector and build a modern industrial system characterized by the intelligent economy. The entire city must align with the set goals, benchmark against relevant standards, leverage strengths and address weaknesses, launch targeted special campaigns, strive to achieve a number of demonstrative and leading landmark outcomes, and contribute Zhengzhou's solutions and wisdom to the national new-type industrialization development.

On the same day, Wuhan held a work conference on the construction of its new-type industrialization demonstration zone and investment promotion. Xiong Zhengyu, Deputy Secretary of the Wuhan Municipal Party Committee and Mayor, attended the meeting and emphasized that Wuhan must adhere to prioritizing the real economy in economic development, vigorously implement the advanced manufacturing doubling plan, further improve the quality and efficiency of investment promotion, accelerate the construction of the national new-type industrialization demonstration zone, strive to build a strong manufacturing city in the new era, and provide solid support for fully building the "Five Centers" and constructing a modern, large Wuhan in an all-round way.

Last November, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially issued the Work Plan for the Creation of National New-Type Industrialization Demonstration Zones, specifying that around 50 national new-type industrialization demonstration zones will be designated by 2030. This March, the list of the first 16 cities selected to create national new-type industrialization demonstration zones was released, including four cities in central China: Hefei, Wuhan, Zhengzhou and Changsha.

According to the deployment, the selected cities will carry out demonstration work in six key areas: improving the industrial science and technology innovation system, promoting the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure, advancing the digital and intelligent transformation of the industrial sector, accelerating the green and low-carbon development of industry, strengthening the tiered cultivation of high-quality enterprises, and enhancing the modernization level of industrial governance. After the 3-year creation period, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will organize evaluation and acceptance inspections, and qualified cities will be officially designated as "National New-Type Industrialization Demonstration Zones".

For Zhengzhou and Wuhan, this "national-level assessment" is not only a test of the quality of their industrial development, but also an opportunity to elevate their economic capacity. In 2025, Zhengzhou's GDP reached 1.5 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 5.4%, with the growth rate of the industrial added value of enterprises above designated size hitting 9.0%; for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the city aims to raise its gross regional product to 2 trillion yuan. Over the same period, Wuhan's GDP stood at 2.2 trillion yuan, up 5.6% year on year, and the growth rate of its industrial added value of enterprises above designated size reached 6.2%; the city strives to exceed 3 trillion yuan in total economic output by the end of the 15th Five-Year Plan period.

Previously, Wuhan launched the advanced manufacturing doubling plan, targeting a total industrial output value of over 3 trillion yuan by 2030, with the industrial added value of enterprises above designated size reaching 800 billion yuan, accounting for about 27% of GDP. At this conference, the Implementation Plan for Wuhan to Accelerate New-Type Industrialization and Promote the Doubling of Advanced Manufacturing was released, focusing on driving the doubling development of high-tech manufacturing, R&D investment, leading enterprises, and industrial clusters, to lead the manufacturing sector toward high-end, intelligent, green, integrated, and internationalized transformation.

Notably, Wuhan has also deeply integrated investment promotion with the construction of new-type industrialization. The conference proposed that the city must focus on industrial orientation, refine and implement the "five lists" covering central and state-owned enterprises, chain-leading enterprises, fund venture capital, science and innovation platforms, and alumni and Hubei-origin talents, promote municipal-district coordination and inter-departmental collaboration, establish a mechanism for rapid decision-making and swift implementation of investment projects, strengthen factor guarantee, build a first-class business environment, and effectively enhance the precision, synergy, and effectiveness of investment promotion.

Zhengzhou, on the other hand, places greater emphasis on driving demonstration through targeted campaigns. According to the Implementation Plan for the Construction of Zhengzhou's National New-Type Industrialization Demonstration Zone (2026-2027), issued concurrently, the city will launch six key campaigns. Industrial science and technology innovation is prioritized, with efforts directed toward establishing a national functional diamond material innovation center, building a professional diamond laboratory in partnership with Huawei, and striving to achieve technological breakthroughs in critical areas such as third-generation semiconductors and the application of functional diamonds in chip equipment.

New-type industrialization does not mean blindly pursuing emerging industries or rushing to develop future industries without proper planning; it also requires continuously consolidating foundations and deeply cultivating traditional industries. Zhengzhou has proposed promoting the profound transformation of sectors including fuel vehicles, equipment manufacturing, high-end aluminum processing, and modern food production toward improved quality and efficiency. In terms of overall goals, by 2027, Zhengzhou will achieve an average annual growth of over 8% in the industrial added value of enterprises above designated size, with the total industrial added value reaching 450 billion yuan, and the manufacturing added value accounting for 24% of GDP.

This article is from the WeChat Official Account "City Evolution", authored by Yang Huan, and published with authorization from 36Kr.