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Recently, a symposium on further energizing the central region was held in Changsha. Could you please tell us how Hunan plans to seize the opportunity and take the lead as we promote the rise of the central region and the development of the Yangtze Economic Belt? Thank you.

Mao Weiming:

First of all, thank you for your question. Allow me to answer it. During his inspection tour in Hunan this March, General Secretary Xi Jinping held a symposium on further energizing the central region. As an important province in the central region of China, Hunan is following the guiding principles of the symposium, particularly General Secretary Xi Jinping's call for Hunan to take the lead in promoting the rise of the central region and the development of the Yangtze Economic Belt. We will maintain a proactive and striving-for-excellence stance, fulfilling the mission and responsibility of playing the vital role as a major provincial economy. How can we strive to take the lead? I believe we should focus on excelling in the following three areas.

First, we will strive to take the lead in enhancing economic contribution. As I mentioned earlier, Hunan is located in central China, with a household registered population of 73 million, ranking eighth in the country. Last year, our total economic output ranked ninth nationwide, and our land area of 211,800 square kilometers is the 10th largest in the country. Though in different dimensions, these rankings are very close to each other and together, they indicate Hunan's geographical and economic position in the country, which makes it possible for us to strive to contribute to the overall high-quality development of China. We will always focus on both growth poles and growth points, striving for a regional GDP growth rate above the national average to help boost the rise of the central region. The term "rise" is used for the central region, while "development" is used for the Yangtze Economic Belt. We believe that "rise" implies surpassing general development levels and playing a more significant role. In terms of cultivating growth poles, we are accelerating the integration of Changsha, Zhuzhou, and Xiangtan, aiming for their combined economic output to reach 2.5 trillion yuan by 2025. Currently, Changsha is increasingly popular among young people, and we often say that any city favored by young people is vibrant and has a promising future. The development momentum in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan region is very strong. We will use key breakthroughs to drive overall progress to leap and rise, making this region an important growth pole in central China. At the same time, we will focus on creating new growth points in sectors like Beidou, new energy, and cultural tourism, forming competitive industrial clusters in the central region.

Second, we will strive to take the lead in better fulfilling various functions. Hunan is renowned as the "land of fish and rice" and the "land of nonferrous metals." We will capitalize on favorable conditions and leverage our comparative advantages to improve our role in constructing a comprehensive transportation hub and three vital bases for grain production, energy and raw materials, and modern equipment manufacturing and high-tech industries, respectively, in line with the requirements of the central authority for the central region. For example, as the "land of fish and rice," Hunan's total grain output has exceeded 60 billion jin (30 million tons) for many years, reaching 61.3 billion jin last year. Among them, rice cultivation area and output rank first nationwide, and camellia oleifera cultivation area and output also rank first in the country, making a contribution to filling Chinese people's rice bowls with domestically produced grain. As the "land of nonferrous metals," Hunan accounts for about 40% of the country's hard alloy materials, leading the nation in advanced energy storage materials and advanced steel and iron products. We will continue to break through frontier technologies, aiming for the operating income of the new materials industry to reach 800 billion yuan by 2025, making greater contributions to the building of the energy and raw materials base.

Third, we will strive to take the lead in highlighting green development. Hunan has a forest coverage rate close to 60%, so when you come to Hunan, everywhere you look, there are beautiful landscapes and picturesque mountains and rivers, presenting changing scenery at every step. Additionally, Hunan has a 163-kilometer-long Yangtze River shoreline. "One river, one lake, and four waters" (the Yangtze River, Dongting Lake, and four smaller rivers or tributaries: Xiangjiang River, Zijiang River, Yuanjiang River, and Lijiang River) are our primary focus in building a beautiful Hunan. We adhere to the requirements of promoting well-coordinated conservation and avoiding excessive development as well as protecting the clear water in the river, ensuring that the waters pouring into the Yangtze River at its Hunan sections are clear. Regarding eco-friendly industries, our goal is to make industries more green and high value-added, emphasizing environmental friendliness, transformation, and upgrading. In terms of the industrialization of environmental protection activities, we will focus on exploring the pathway for transforming lucid waters and lush mountains into invaluable assets and vice versa and invest efforts into new business formats such as "ecology + tourism" and "ecology + health." We aim to excel in developing green industries, improving eco-environment, promoting environmental awareness, and establishing related systems. In our opinion, the establishment of well-designed systems can show moral virtues. Centered around the two initiatives of promoting well-coordinated conservation and avoiding excessive development and "one river, one lake, and four waters," we will implement more effective and beneficial measures and ensure that established systems serve as crucial safeguards for building a beautiful Hunan.

Thank you.