More Investment into Anqing urged

A senior official in Anqing, which lies along the northern bank of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River in Anhui Province, has called for more investment into this famous centuries-old port city to help expand local industries.

Speaking at a news conference, Anqing Executive Vice-Mayor Wang Yingchun said on Sept 6 that domestic and overseas investors are welcome to invest in The Anqing Demonstration Zone, which is part of the Industrial Transfer Demonstration Zone in the Anhui Yangtze River City Belt -- a national blueprint approved on Jan 12 this year by the State Council.

He noted that the city is establishing an Anqing City Guiding Fund for Industrial Transfers to guide investment into the The Anqing Demonstration Zone, which covers the prefecture-level city's 11 county-level divisions including three districts, one county-level city and seven counties with a total population of 6.1 million.

The Industrial Transfer Demonstration Zone in the Anhui Yangtze River City Belt, as the first national-level blueprint formulated by the State for inland regions to embrace industrial transfer from home and abroad since the founding of New China in 1949, includes 10 cities along the Yangtze River in the eastern province of Anhui, including Hefei, Wuhu, Ma'anshan, Tongling, Anqing, Chizhou, Chaohu, Chuzhou and Xuancheng, as well as two districts in Lu'an city. Anhui has 17 prefecture-level cities under its jurisdiction.

The city is also to provide special cash incentives to encourage enterprises located in The Anqing Demonstration Zone to go listing, Wang said while introducing the city's policies on encouraging industrial transfers from home and abroad, adding that Anqing also plans to expand the city's Economic-Technological Development Area and apply to the State for an Anqing Export Processing Zone to fully enhance the city's industrial advances.

From 1760, or the 25th year of the Qianlong Reign in the Qing Dynasty (1664-1911) to 1938, or the 27th year of the Republic of China, Anqing had been the capital of Anhui Province for 178 years, and also the province's center for economy, politics and culture, said Chu Linji, director of Anqing City Development and Reform Commission.

Currently, the The Anqing Demonstration Zone is also the largest among the 10 prefecture-level cities located in the Industrial Transfer Demonstration Zone in the Anhui Yangtze River City Belt, Chu said.

The city aims to fashion Anqing into the country's major petrochemical and textile industries base by 2015, he said at a news conference welcoming representatives from China Top 500 and other famous enterprises on an investment tour to Anqing, organized by the city Party committee and city government.

At present, the city has more than 100 textile and garment enterprises, while as a major petrochemical base in Anhui, Anqing produced a chemical industry output at 26 billion yuan ($3.82 billion) in 2009, accounting for 34.7 percent of the province's total, said Fang Junping, director of Invest-in-Anqing Bureau.

Fang noted that as a city set up 2,000 years ago, Anqing also has numerous natural and cultural scenic spots, including the famous Tianzhu Mountain, located at the meeting point of Dabie Mountain and the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plain and referred to by Taoism as the 14th Fascinating Place and the 57th Happy Land, and is known for its Huangmei Opera, which has a history of more than 200 years and is one of the most famous traditional operas in China.

Promoting cultural and tourist industries is also one of the seven advantageous industries for the The Anqing Demonstration Zone, he said.