Hunan authorities recently unveiled a package of measures aimed at supporting the cities of Yueyang and Hengyang in accelerating their development into provincial sub-centers. These measures were reviewed and approved at a meeting of the Commission for Comprehensively Deepening Reform of the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee.

Specific measures in 10 aspects were rolled out to enhance the capacity level of Yueyang and Hengyang as provincial sub-center cities and to foster new drivers for the province's high-quality development.

These measures mark Hunan's enhancement of policy support for the two provincial sub-center cities since 2021 when they were officially designated and received dedicated policy support. Following the principle of "delegating all powers that can be delegated," Hunan authorities will further hand over responsibility to the two cities, empowering them with more provincial-level economic and social administrative authority in such areas as market access, engineering construction, project approval, land use, investment promotion, talent recruitment, and financial services.

To enhance strategic supply resilience, Hunan authorities will support Yueyang in becoming a national core hub for grain logistics and Hengyang in becoming a national key node city for grain logistics, accelerating the construction of national grain reserve bases and creating a high-quality grain supply base for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Meanwhile, Yueyang will be supported in developing national strategic reserve projects for coal, oil, and gas, while Hengyang will be positioned to establish a strategic reserve base for non-ferrous metals.
 
To cultivate and strengthen advantageous industries, explicit support will be given to Yueyang in developing its modern petrochemical industry, with expanded support through special-purpose bonds for the Yueyang Green Chemical High-tech Industrial Development Zone and the Linxiang High-tech Industrial Development Zone. Support will also be provided for Hengyang in fostering a new materials industrial cluster for salt-brine chemicals. Special provincial funds for developing Hunan into a manufacturing hub will provide key support for the advantageous industrial projects in the two cities.
 
To enhance scientific and technological innovation capabilities, Hunan authorities will support the development of provincial-level regional sci-tech innovation centers, with special provincial sci-tech funds coordinated to support talent cultivation and key technology R&D in fields such as green intelligent computing, intelligent manufacturing, and new materials for the chemical and non-ferrous metals industries. Hengyang will also be supported in building a national-level sci-tech innovation platform for radiation-mitochondria research in collaboration with the University of South China.
 
To improve the transportation and logistics system, Hunan will expedite the inclusion of the Changde-Yueyang-Jiujiang Railway and the Nanning-Hengyang High-Speed Railway in the national 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) for railway development. Support will be provided for Yueyang Sanhe Airport in enhancing its international freight capacity; for Changsha and Yueyang in integrating to create an international air cargo hub; and, for Hengyang in participating as a key node in the development of the China-Europe (Changsha) Freight Train Service assembly center.
 
The measures also propose support in such areas as improving regional healthcare standards, optimizing educational resources, enhancing urban carrying capacity, and developing cultural tourism brands. Meanwhile, priority will be given to strengthening support in production factors, helping Yueyang and Hengyang expand their fiscal capacity, and scaling up support for the two cities in terms of transfer payments and new‑issue bond quotas. An incremental reward policy for value-added tax (VAT) and corporate income tax (CIT) will be implemented, under which 50% of the annual incremental VAT and CIT contributed by the two cities and their subordinate counties to the provincial government will be returned to them as fiscal rewards.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.
 
Translator: Pang Yuehui
 
Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn