A view of Xiang River in Changsha city, Hunan province. (PHOTO: VCG)

By CHEN Chunyou & YU Huiyou

In recent years, the traditional advantageous industries in Hunan province, such as construction machinery, rail transit equipment and aerospace equipment, have maintained robust export growth. Solar cells, lithium batteries and electric passenger vehicles from Hunan have also become favorite products in overseas markets.

This is attributed to Hunan's efforts to foster new quality productive forces. In 2023, the southern province decided to build its capital city Changsha into a global R&D center. The goal is to align its functions and R&D with global needs, attract R&D resources worldwide, and produce cutting-edge achievements that benefit the globe. This, in turn, supports the province's development of new quality productive forces.

One notable collaboration is the BASF Shanshan Battery Materials Co.,Ltd. (BSBM), a joint venture between Germany's leading chemical company BASF and Shanshan Corporation, one of China's top 500 enterprises. This was Hunan's largest foreign investment project in 2021.

BASF brought global resources from its Asia-Pacific R&D headquarters for cathode materials and the Chinese administrative headquarters of its battery materials division to the BSBM's Changsha base.

To date, the BSBM has achieved many feats, including developing high-nickel and ultra-high-nickel cathode materials for power batteries, which are widely used for high-end power vehicle models.

To enhance the intelligence and production capacity of the BSBM's Changsha base, a 110 kV external line project was built with government support and put into use in February.

Wang Wenjia, general manager of Continental Hope Investment Development Co., Ltd., spoke highly of Changsha's business environment.

"The governments at all levels in Changsha try their best to meet enterprise development needs, which can be seen from attracting industrial chain enterprises, improving the surrounding market system, to providing consultative services for company registration," Wang said.

The BSBM said it will grasp the strategic opportunity presented by Changsha's thriving open economy, and focus on the fast-growing electric vehicle sector. It is committed to the R&D and sustainable development of high-performance cathode materials.

High-level opening up is not only manifested in attracting foreign investment, but also in the swiftness of local enterprises in expanding in the global market.

In 2023, Hunan issued a policy to promote the integrated development of industry and trade and encourage enterprises to explore international markets. This has instilled confidence in enterprises to expand their overseas operations.

Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd., a global leader in the construction machinery industry based in Changsha city, reported overseas revenue of 13 billion RMB in the first three quarters of 2023. Its products and services cover more than 140 countries and regions.

The Tebian Electric Apparatus Hengyang Transformer Co., Ltd. in Hunan's Hengyang city is a backbone power transmission equipment manufacturing provider. It has established 34 permanent overseas offices in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and other regions, exporting its products to more than 70 Belt and Road Initiative partner countries.