On August 16, the Publicity Department of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee held a press conference on developing Hunan into a hub of reform and opening up in inland regions. Shen Yumou, director of the Hunan Provincial Department of Commerce, said that since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, Hunan has made new strides in foreign trade. The total imports and exports surged from 138.57 billion yuan in 2012 to 597.28 billion yuan in 2021, an increase of 3.3 times.

With the foreign trade volume climbing year by year, Hunan witnessed a leapfrog development in this sector. Since 2017, the province's total import and export volume has exceeded 200 billion, 300 billion, 400 billion, and 500 billion yuan successively. The total trade value hit nearly 600 billion yuan in 2021, a rise of 150% from 2017. Hunan saw an average annual growth rate of 25.2% over the past five years. The figure ranked first nationwide. The province is on the way to achieve the goal of creating a 100-billion-USD foreign trade volume.

The number and value of goods exported overseas have increased continuously, with the products ranging from lighters and bags to construction machinery and rail transit.

Hunan Province received incentives from the State Council for its efforts in promoting steady growth of foreign trade and foreign investment. 

Hunan achieved a leapfrog development in investment attraction. In 2021, the actual use of foreign capital reached 2.41 billion US dollars, an increase of 72.3%. The figure ranked 13th nationwide and 2nd in central China. The growth rate ranked 3rd nationwide and 1st in central China. The paid-in domestic investment was more than 1.1 trillion yuan, an increase of 3.7 times compared with 2012. Over the past decade, Hunan's foreign investment has increased, with a growing number of projects implemented and industrial fields expanded. There are 188 Fortune Global 500 companies investing in Hunan, including Bosch Group, Schaeffler Group, BASF, and Aeon.

New breakthroughs have been made in foreign economic cooperation. Hunan's "circle of friends" in economy and trade covers 227 countries and regions around the world. Overseas mergers and acquisitions, including the acquisition of Dow AgroSciences in Brazil by the Yuan Longping High-tech Agriculture Co., Ltd. and the acquisition of Cliníca Baviera by AIER Eye Hospital group, helped more than 1,700 Hunan enterprises to enter 109 countries and regions. Hunan's foreign direct investment is ranked among the top ten in the country and first in central China.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn