On November 5, a press conference in the series on Hunan's achievements during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period (2021-2025), with a special session by Loudi City, was held in Changsha. During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Loudi City has held high the banner of developing the central region's "Materials Valley," and cultivated the "Three Steels, Three Electrics, and One Titanium" industries. Its total economic output surpassed 200 billion CNY, with a regional gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate higher than the province's average for the same period.

Loudi City has improved in both total economic output and development quality. From 2020 to 2024, Loudi's GDP increased from 165.259 billion CNY to 213.163 billion CNY, showing steady growth. The per capita GDP rose from 43,000 CNY in 2020 to 57,000 CNY in 2024. The number of large-scale industrial enterprises in the city exceeded 1,000, and the added value of the manufacturing sector accounted for 27.2% of the city's GDP.

Loudi has developed new quality productive forces according to local conditions, designating the construction of the central region's "Materials Valley" as the city's "No. 1 Project." The city has optimized its industrial structure, shifting from a resource-based economy dominated by traditional industries to a transformation featuring the upgrading of traditional industries alongside the parallel development of emerging industries. It has promoted the silicon steel industry from scratch, successfully extended its leading products from crude steel and rebar towards silicon steel, automotive steel, and high-strength steel — the "Three Steels" — and has achieved an annual production capacity of 4.5 million tonnes of silicon steel substrate, two million tonnes of automotive steel, and one million tonnes of high-strength steel, with the proportion of special steel output surpassing 70.5%. Currently, the city's silicon steel capacity accounts for 16% of the national total, and Loudi has risen to become the premier silicon steel production city in the central region, the only one in Hunan, and the fourth largest nationwide. Loudi has also become the world's largest antimony product production base and an important national production base for high-strength steel, automotive sheets, electrical steel, hydraulic cylinders, road rollers, and fasteners.

Loudi allocates approximately 75% of its annual fiscal expenditure to people's livelihoods, making a better life for the people. It is constructing the province's only national regional medical center — Loudi Hospital of the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University — providing residents with better healthcare security. It is building itself as a welcoming senior-friendly city. Loudi's elderly care services received incentives from the State Council for solid and effective work in 2022 and received provincial government incentives for solid and effective work for two consecutive years. The city's environment continues to improve, with the water quality of surface water sections monitored at the national and provincial levels meeting Class II standards or higher for three consecutive years.

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn