Invest in Shanxi

Overview

Covering 156,700 square kilometers, Shanxi province in North China has a population of 37 million (2017) with 11 cities and 119 counties under its administration. Shanxi has extensive reserves of many different minerals. 

The province belongs to the Loess Plateau, with its boundaries forming the shape of a parallelogram. Shanxi has various kinds of land forms, including mountainous regions, hills, tableland, basins and plains. Mountainous regions and hills make up around 80 percent of the entire province.

[Photo/VCG]

Shanxi province saw a 6.7 percent rise in GDP during 2018, 0.1 percent higher than the national average, entering a stable period of growth for the first time since 2014. 

Pillar Industries

As a major energy supplier in China, the coal-rich Shanxi province has cultivated several pillar industries including coal, coking, equipment manufacturing,tourism, new energy and new material.

Coal industry

Shanxi is a province abundant in coal resources with proven coal reserves of 270.9 billion tons, accounting for 17.3 percent of the whole country’s reserves and ranking first for quantity in China. From 1949 to 2014, Shanxi produced more than 16.2 billion tons of coal, accounting for one-quarter of the total coal output across the country.

The output of raw coal above designated scale reached 855.81 million tons in 2017, increasing 3.5 percent year on year. The added value of the coal industry above designated scale in 2017 was up 3.6 percent year on year. Coal exports amounted to 30,000 tons –– 1.3 times higher than the previous year.

The coal companies above designated scale generated 700.25 billion yuan ($102.75 billion) in revenues and 60.85 billion yuan in profits during 2017, representing year-on-year growth of 28.9 percent and 540.1 percent.

To further integrate coal resources and upgrade industrial structures in the province, Shanxi has been reducing its reliance on coal and transforming its economy by eliminating outdated coal mines.

Provincially-owned coal mines in Shanxi have cut 22.65 million tons of coal production capacity by shutting down 27 mines in 2017, according to the provincial State-owned assets supervision and administration commission. The province plans to cut 16 million tons of excess mining capacity in State-owned coal mines in 2018.

Coking industry

Shanxi is the largest and most important coke production base in China with annual output being around 90 million tons in recent years, accounting for about 19 percent of the national total.

Annual coke exports reach 7.5 million tons, accounting for about 90 percent of the national export total and ranking first in China. In addition, the output of coke oven gas, coking crude benzene, and coal tar rank first in China.

Equipment manufacturing industry

Shanxi heavy machinery and featured products in the equipment manufacturing sector dominate the domestic market.

For example, the domestic market share of large-scale metallurgical cranes weighing more than 300 tons is over 90 percent. Shanxi produced a full range of mining excavators measuring from 4 to 75 cubic meters and accounting for over 85 percent of the domestic market. The locomotive traction transformers and the wheels, axles and wheel sets from Shanxi have a domestic market share of over 90 percent.

In 2017, the equipment manufacturing industry generated 197.2 billion yuan in revenues, representing year-on-year growth of 47.6 percent. The equipment manufacturing industry accounted for 8.9 percent of the province's industrial enterprises above designated size, increasing the province's industrial growth by 1.4 percentage points. Among the five major industries above designated size, the equipment manufacturing industry had the highest growth rate at 13.9 percent, realizing profits of 7.39 billion yuan, an increase of 3.84 billion yuan year on year.

Tourism industry

A cradle of Chinese culture, Shanxi boasts a long history, abundant heritage and beautiful scenery.

The province belongs to the Loess Plateau, with its boundaries forming the shape of a parallelogram. Shanxi has various kinds of landforms, including mountainous regions, hills, tableland, basins and plains. Mountainous regions and hills make up around 80 percent of the entire province.

Shanxi is also home to 452 sites containing cultural relics under State-level protection, and to more than 28,000 ancient architectural sites –– more than any other province in China.

In 2017, Shanxi welcomed 670,000 overnight visitors from abroad and 560 million domestic tourists, a year-on-year increase of 6.4 percent and 26.5 respectively. Foreign exchange income from tourism reached $350 million, an increase of 10.3 percent year on year. Domestic tourism revenues were 533.86 billion yuan ($77.19 billion), representing year-on-year growth of 26.3 percent.

New energy industry

Shanxi province has abundant solar energy and wind energy resources with 3,000 hours of total annual sunshine due to its location on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in Northwest China, leading to a thriving new energy industry in the province.

By the end of March 2018, the wind farms and photovoltaic bases in Shanxi had a total installed capacity of 15.21 million kW, an increase of 94 percent compared with 2015, making it the leader in China. Electricity generation by wind power and photovoltaic power increased around 33 percent and more than fourfold respectively.

New materials industry

Alumina bauxite resources are the second largest mineral resource in Shanxi province following coal resources. The province has alumina production capacity of 13 million metric tons. The magnesium industry ranks first for its production in China, accounting for about one-third of the national output.

Based on these resources, Shanxi will develop a new materials industry based on alumina, aluminum-magnesium alloy materials, NdFeB permanent magnet materials and semiconductor lighting materials. 

Advantages

Shanxi province enjoys an ideal location for trade and investment. The province is next to Hebei province in the east, Shaanxi and Henan provinces in the west, has the Yellow River to the south acting as a natural border, and connects with Inner Mongolia autonomous region along the Great Wall in the north.

First, Shanxi has extensive mineral reserves. By the end of 2015, 120 types of mineral had been discovered, 63 with proven reserves and 32 types ranking in the top 10 for quantity in China. The reserves of coal, coal bed methane, bauxite, refractory clay, magnesium mine and dolomite for metallurgy rank first for quantity in China. The proven reserves of coal amount to 270.9 billion metric tons, accounting for 17.3 percent of the whole country’s reserves.

Second, the province’s gross annual water resources amount to about 9.83 billion cubic meters, including about 8.4 billion cu m of underground water and about 8.7 billion cu m of river water.

Third, there are 439 species of terrestrial vertebrates in Shanxi, 71 of which are national key protection wild animals, and there are 182 families of plants that grow at high altitude, covering more than 2,700 species and including 13 kinds of national protected plants.

Fourth, a cradle of Chinese culture, Shanxi boasts a long history, abundant heritage and beautiful scenery. The long history has left the province with numerous historical relics, and the unique geography has created beautiful and splendid natural scenery, such as the second-largest waterfall in the nation, the China-Hukou Waterfall on the Yellow River.

Shanxi is home to 452 sites containing cultural relics under State-level protection, and to more than 28,000 ancient architectural sites, the most out of all of China’s provinces. There are three relics listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, namely Yungang Grottoes in Datong, the Ancient City of Pingyao in Jinzhong and Mount Wutai in Xinzhou.

Fifth, Shanxi has great potential for scientific development. The province applied for 20,697 patents, including 7,379 invention patents, in 2017, representing year-on-year growth of 3.3 percent. There have been 560 scientific achievements listed, with three winning national science and technology awards. By the end of 2017, Shanxi had 1,117 high-tech companies and 184 maker spaces at provincial-level and above.

Investment promotion agencies

1. Department of Commerce of Shanxi Province

Contact:

Tel: 0351-4062342

Address: No 1 Xinjian Road, Taiyuan, Shanxi

Postcode: 030002

2. Shanxi Board of Investment Promotion

Contact:

Tel: 0351-96301、0351-4675511

Address: No 53 West Yingze Avenue, Taiyuan, Shanxi

3. Shanxi Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment

Contact:

Tel: 0351-4040123 　　

Fax: 0351-4040123

Address: No 229 Yingze Avenue, Taiyuan, Shanxi

Postcode: 030001