Jilin city seeks national, global prominence

Jilin city in Jilin province is accelerating its development into a provincial subcenter city with high standards, the city's Party secretary, Hu Bin, said.

Hu said that leveraging the city's industrial and resource advantages and developing new quality productive forces will be the keys to building a national first-class petrochemical industry base, a world-class carbon fiber industry base, a world-class ice and snow industry base and a national-level clean energy base.

"Adhering to the practice of deepening reform in Chinese-style modernization, Jilin city is paying attention to system integration and aligning the direction of various fields," Hu said. "We are deepening reforms in State-owned enterprises, development zones, Songhua Lake and other economic areas to stimulate more creative institutions and mechanisms."

He added that the city is accelerating reforms in urban construction and management, elderly care services, and ecological and environmental protection to better address the demands of people from all sectors and at all levels.

The city's GDP grew 6.7 percent last year, ranking first in the province for the first time.

In the first quarter of this year, its GDP grew by 7.3 percent, with fixed-asset investment up 8.3 percent, to maintain its leading position in the province.

Aiming to build a national first-class petrochemical industry base, the city is closely following market changes as it moves to reduce oil production and increase the manufacture of chemicals. This will extend the downstream industrial chain and create a major petrochemical industry cluster, Hu said.

"With a total investment of 33.9 billion yuan ($4.7 billion), the transformation and upgrade project of Jilin Petrochemical Co, a subsidiary of PetroChina, will be the largest industrial project in the province since 1949 and the first chemical project of PetroChina to use all green electricity," he said.

After project completion in 2026, the company will transform from a fuel-based model to a chemical products and organic materials model, he added.

As the only national-level industrial base in the country for high-tech carbon fiber, Jilin is promoting the construction of a world-class industry base. The city has the largest capacity for precursor fibers in the world and ranks first in China and second globally for carbon fiber capacity.

"Jilin Chemical Fiber Group Co has been selected as a national world-class demonstration enterprise," Hu said. "Now we are expediting the implementation of key projects such as the group's 400,000-metric-ton carbon fiber industry chain and 10,000-ton high-end carbon fiber material projects."

In addition, the city has entered into cooperation agreements with enterprises such as Commercial Aircraft Corp of China and CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles to open up new paths for integrated development. These include lightweight automotive applications, aerospace, new energy, and ice and snow equipment.

"We aim to create a 100-billion-yuan carbon fiber industrial cluster," Hu said.

Located at the same latitude as the Swiss Alps and the Rocky Mountains in North America, the city is well-known for powdery snow that lasts throughout the winter, thanks to consistent frigid temperatures, and it is accelerating the construction of a world-class ice and snow industry base.

"Jilin was honored as a Top 10 Ice and Snow Tourism City of 2024," Hu said. "In the first quarter, we have seen a 132.5 percent increase in domestic tourist arrivals and an increase of 133.4 percent in tourism revenue."

The city, which boasts abundant hydroelectric resources, is also promoting the construction of a national-level clean energy base.

"Leveraging our advantageous geographical location, favorable market conditions and convenient resources, we have planned and implemented a series of clean energy projects that vigorously advance the construction of a national clean energy base, including 10 pumped storage power station projects," Hu said.

The Jiaohe pumped-storage power station — the nation's first to produce tens of millions of kilowatts — will have an installed capacity of 1.2 million kilowatts and an annual power generation of 1.213 billion kilowatt-hours upon completion.

With the acceleration of industrial development, the leading role of advantageous industries is steadily growing in the city.

"In 2024, Jilin plans to implement 407 key projects with a total investment of 180.3 billion yuan, including 60 projects with investments exceeding 500 million yuan," Hu said. "Those account for more than 60 percent of the industrial project investments."