21st Century Business Herald:

The Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone is the only experimental zone approved by the State Council that focuses on the aviation-related economy. How is it going? What are the development goals and measures for the next step? Thank you.

Wang Kai:

Mr. Sun is the secretary of the Party Working Committee of the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone. He will answer these questions.

Sun Shougang:

Thank you for your questions. In 2013, the State Council approved the establishment of the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone. It has developed from scratch for more than a decade, rapidly increasing its comprehensive strength. In 2023, it achieved a regional GDP of 129.5 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 14% over the decade.

First, we focus on the hub. As you know, Zhengzhou has a natural geographical advantage and serves as a major comprehensive transportation corridor in the country. Zhengzhou Airport has opened 49 international cargo flight routes, and its annual international cargo and mail throughput ranks among the top 40 globally. We are currently constructing the Zhengzhou International Land Port, which aims to be a modern, international, world-class logistics hub. It will be developed into a full-featured, high-capacity assembly center for China-Europe freight trains, connecting domestic and international routes and serving the eastern, central, and western regions of China. It will be capable of handling 10,000 China-Europe freight train departures annually. Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone Station was the first to launch high-speed rail express cargo services, and the number of vehicles monitored under the TIR (International Road Transport ) system accounts for over 70% of the national total. The Airport Economy Zone has established a major hub pattern integrating the airport, high-speed railways, the international land port, and highways.

Second, we focus on industries. In 2023, the total output of the electronic information industry in the Airport Economy Zone reached 533.4 billion yuan. It has established a complete industrial ecosystem from key core components to end products, essentially forming an airport-related industrial system led by electronic information. With a focus on promoting the high-quality development of manufacturing and accelerating the cultivation of new quality productive forces, we will strive to build an electronic information industry cluster with international influence, which is expected to generate an annual output of 1 trillion yuan, an manufacturing base producing 1 million of new energy vehicles each year, a biopharmaceutical industry cluster with an annual output of 100 billion yuan, and an aerospace industry cluster with an annual output of 10 billion yuan.

Third, we focus on opening-up. The Airport Economy Zone has established a diverse, comprehensively functional, and highly efficient port system, becoming a vital gateway for inland regions to open up. The Xinzheng Comprehensive Bonded Zone has maintained an A-level ranking in performance assessments for four consecutive years. In terms of import and export, it has been consistently listed among the top of all comprehensive bonded zones nationwide, and it ranked first last year. We will leverage our position as a key node in the Silk Road Economic Belt, deeply integrate into the joint development of the Belt and Road Initiative, and develop pioneering zones for the Air Silk Road. We will accelerate digital empowerment for "soft connectivity," advance institutional opening-up, create a market-oriented, law-based and world-class business environment, and establish high-level platforms for opening-up and cooperation.

In the first quarter of this year, the GDP of the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone increased by 19.2% year on year, the added value of industrial enterprises above the designated size increased by 34.2%, and fixed asset investment grew by 10.2%. The Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone is gathering more factors of innovation at a fast pace, showing strong growth momentum. Its future is promising and full of potential.

That's all for my answer. Thank you.

Shou Xiaoli:

Thank you, Mr. Wang. Thank you to all the speakers. I also want to express gratitude to all journalists for your participation. Today's press conference concludes here. Goodbye, everyone.

Translated and edited by Wang Yiming, Yuan Fang, Guo Yiming, Ma Yujia, Wang Mengru, Lin Liyao, Wang Ziteng, Zhang Junmian, Liu Caiyi, He Shan, Zhang Rui, Wang Wei, Li Huiru, David Ball, Jay Birbeck, and Rochelle Beiersdorfer. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.