On September 19, the staff learned from the special press conference on "Reform and Opening Up Highland Construction in Inland Areas" that from 2020 to 2022, the total amount of import and export, actual utilization of foreign capital and actual foreign investment in Changsha will increase by 18.3%, 70.4% and 53.1% each year. Changsha, which does not rely on the coast and does not rely on the sea, is accelerating from the inland hinterland city to the frontier of opening up.
In 2022, Changsha's import and export volume reached 331.56 billion yuan, and the actual use of foreign capital and actual foreign investment accounted for more than 80% of the province's total. Since 2023, foreign trade has shown a trend of structural optimization and quality improvement, especially for production enterprises such as construction machinery and new energy vehicles.
The implementation rate of 113 reform tasks in Changsha area of Hunan Free Trade Zone reached 98.2%, 80 institutional innovation achievements were formed, and the construction of Xiangqiong cooperative industrial Park began. The role of the pilot zone for in-depth economic and trade cooperation between China and Africa has been highlighted. Platforms such as the Demonstration Park for promoting innovation in China-Africa Economic and Trade cooperation and the permanent pavilion of the China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo have been put into operation, and the Consulate General of the Republic of Malawi in Changsha has opened its doors. From January to July 2023, Changsha's trade with Africa totaled 14.168 billion yuan, accounting for 40.8% of the province's total.
In terms of foreign investors, 180 "World's top 500" enterprises have invested in the city, and a number of foreign-funded landmark projects such as BASF have been completed and operated. In terms of the main body of foreign economy, the China-Brazil Agricultural Science and Technology Industrial Park and other overseas parks have been steadily built, and a number of advantageous enterprises such as Sany Heavy Industry and Longping Development have been deployed overseas. In terms of foreign trade subjects, in the first half of 2023, there were 3,322 foreign trade performance enterprises in the city, accounting for 50% of the province.
The China-Europe Express train (Changsha) has ranked first in China for four consecutive years, and Huanghua International Airport has been listed as one of the world's top 100 airports, opening up new channels such as Xiangan-Guangdong and non-Jiang-sea combined transport and Xiangan-Shanghai non-Jiang-sea combined transport.
The International Construction Machinery Exhibition and China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo have been successfully held in Changsha for three consecutive times. The brand influence of major exhibitions has been continuously enhanced, the international communication of Changsha's city image has been accelerated, and the integration of Changsha's development and the global economy has been more closely. Among them, the third International Construction Machinery Exhibition attracted 35 "Global Top 50 construction machinery" brands to participate, with a turnover of 53.6 billion yuan. The Southeast Asia branch of the Construction Machinery Exhibition will be held in Malaysia at the end of November. During the third China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo, 120 projects worth 10.3 billion US dollars were signed between China and Africa.
Changsha has introduced a series of policies such as "1+7" for an open economy, fully implemented the "negative list", and achieved entry if it is not banned. Changsha has been awarded many honors such as "China's Hot Investment City", "China's most internationally competitive City for attracting Investment" and "China's Top Ten Most Satisfactory Cities for Foreign Investment".
