70 Years of Thriving for the New Era – Series of Development Achievements • Yangquan Chapter

 
Gather Strengths for the New Era, and Open a New Journey with “Six Breakthroughs”

The New Ethylene Glycol Coal Chemical Industry Project of Yangquan Coal Industry (Group) Co., Ltd.

The New Look of Yangquan

Yangquan City has cooperated with Baidu to deploy intelligent travel, intelligent logistics, intelligent city management and other multi-field and multi-scenario application demonstrative projects, which have gain preliminary results. It also means the further clarification and advancement of Yangquan’s “differentiated” transformation path. The picture shows the Baidu Cloud Computing (Yangquan) Center.

The Harvest of Dongliang Township, Yu County.

In the 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Yangquan, the “first city of the Communist Party of China” engraved with the CPC mark, has achieved the growth of the per capita gross regional domestic product from RMB 35 in the early period of the founding of the People’s Republic of China to RMB 5,1976 and the increase of the urbanization rate from 15.34% to 68.49%, and achieved a historic change from absolute poverty to a comprehensive well-off society. Especially in recent years, Yangquan has been guided by President Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, conscientiously implemented the important speech spirits delivered by General Secretary Xi during the inspection in Shanxi Province, followed the instructions of the provincial Party committee for the working in Yangquan, and steadily promoted various causes with perseverance and dauntlessness.

Unswervingly implement new development concepts, and gather strengths for “the six breakthroughs”

Yangquan has consciously regarded the five major tasks put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping during his inspection in Shanxi Province as key measures to implement new development concepts, deepen the supply-side structural reform and promote high-quality development. In practice, it has gathered strengths to make the six major breakthroughs and realized the strategic deployment of transformation for rising. It has adhered to the guide of emancipating minds, actively integrated itself into the general trend, and achieved new breakthroughs in expanding its openness; with reform and innovation as the driving force, it has continuously stimulated its vitality, and achieved new breakthroughs in its system and mechanism; supported by industrial transformation and driven by highlight projects, it has achieved new breakthroughs in the construction of a modern industrial system; based on urban-rural integration and by valuing the improvement of quality, it has made new breakthroughs in promoting urban-rural integration; with the reverse transmission of the pressure of environmental protection as a means, it has clarified ecological priorities and achieved new breakthroughs in green development; and aiming at improving people’s livelihood, it has improved its weak links with full efforts and made new breakthroughs in improving people’s livelihood and welfare. At present, the cadres and masses of Yangquan are setting their hearts on advancing on the new journey, exploring new paths, creating new achievements, and striving to write a new chapter.

Unswervingly promote high-quality development, and focus on building a modern industrial system

Constructing a modern industrial system is the key to realizing a transformation and rise. We have firmly established the concept of “project as the priority”, promoted traditional industries and cultivated new driving energies simultaneously, and accelerated the construction of a multi-supported modern industrial system. In the upgrading of traditional industries, we have firmly taken the road of “reducing outdated capacity, optimizing advanced capacity and developing the green sector”. We have reduced the backward coal production capacity of 4.75 million tons, realized the proportion of advanced production capacity of 68.7%, achieved the capacity of new energy-based electricity installed capacity of 4.249 million kilowatts (36%), and further extended the coal industry chain. In the cultivation of new driving energies, we have given play to the comparative advantages of the location and resources, focused on the development of the four major industries including next-generation information technologies, new materials, modern logistics, and cultural tourism and care for the elderly, strived for the provincial government’s 11 policies to support the construction of the intelligent Internet of Things application base in Yangquan City, cooperated with Baidu to create a model of small and medium-sized AI cities, and accelerated the advancement of the nanoscale onion-like fullerenes project of Shanxi Zhongxing Environmental and Energy Technology Co., Ltd. and other high-tech projects. The No. 3 mine of Yangquan Coal Industry (Group) Co., Ltd. became the first coal mine in Shanxi Province to successfully declare a national industrial heritage. The service of the “Yangquan-Tianjin Port-Foshan” road, railway and marine transportation linkage express has enabled Yangquan to substantially integrate into the Belt and Road Initiative. Currently, the non-coal industry is accounting for 35.1%, and boosting the GDP growth in a rate of 5.9 percentage points higher than the coal industry. The proportion of emerging industries has reached 21.6%. The contribution rate of the three industries to GDP has reached 79.2%, and the structure of the three industries has been further optimized to 0.9:45.3:53.8.

Unswervingly focus on deepening reforms, and actively promote institutional innovation

Yangquan has promoted the re-initiation of various reforms, continuously enhanced the effectiveness of the reforms, gained dividends of the reforms, and accelerated the pace of transformation and rise. On the basis of the “1+7” policy system, it has accelerated the reform of state-owned assets and state-owned enterprises in accordance with the requirements of “one enterprise, one policy” and “classified promotion”. It has basically formulated the management system of the development zone, comprehensively implemented the commitment system for enterprise investment projects, won the commendation from the State Administration for Market Supervision for its commercial system reform, and gained a leading position within the Province for the “dual-random and one-open” supervision work system. The urban services have been basically “networked”. The City has integrated the public resource trading platforms firstly within the Province, and implemented electronic trading for the whole process. Yangquan has grasped the chance of being listed as a state-level pilot city for the reform of rural collective property right system, completely eliminated the ghost villages with collective economics, and truly converted resources into assets, capitals into shares, and farmers into shareholders. The pilot projects of the new village (community) governance system have been promoted in an orderly manner with remarkable results. The City has established high-tech industrial equity investment funds and technology innovation and entrepreneurship loan risk compensation funds to help enterprises’ transformation.

Unswervingly promote urban-rural integration, and strive to enhance regional leading role

lding a provincial-level demonstration zone for urban-rural overall planning and taking the lead in realizing the integration of urban and rural development are the advantage of Yangquan and the will of the people. In accordance with the idea of “urban-rural overall planning, city-county linkage, participation by all, and joint building and sharing”, Yangquan has actively carried out activities to build a provincial-level civilized city, a national sanitary city, a national new smart city, a national innovative city, and a national double-support model city. According to the idea of expanding the city pattern and optimizing city quality, Yangquan has formulated a “double-improvement” plan and a plan for urban and rural integration development. A number of urban infrastructure and public service facilities, such as the Yangquan-Dazhai Railway and the city-encircling rerouting projects of the National Highways 307 and 207, have been steadily advanced. It has established a library of rural revitalization strategic projects, and set up special funds to support them. Many villages have been awarded as provincial-level beautiful livable demonstration villages, among which Wangtanzui Village in Yu County won the title of “a China’s Beautiful Leisure Village”. Yangquan has further promoted the supply-side agricultural structural reform, vigorously cultivated characteristic industries, and maintained a good momentum for the development of the rural leisure tourism.

Unswervingly implement green development, and comprehensively build an ecologically livable home

Yangquan has prevented and control pollution with unprecedented efforts, and set strict standards and higher thresholds for industrial development and project access. The City has focused on promoting the clean and efficient use of coal and the optimization of the energy structure, reduced backward production capacity and upgraded traditional industries through the reversed transmission of the pressure, and realized the green transformation of production methods. It has made overall efforts to promote “the governance of the five waters”, strengthened the supervision of soil pollution sources, done a good job in ecological restoration and the construction of institutional mechanisms, gained remarkable results in the “wars” of protecting the air, water and soil, and constantly improved the quality of the atmospheric environment. In 2018, the comprehensive air quality index of the City was 6.58, while the proportion of excellent surface sections above the provincial water control level reached 80%. The passive environmental protection work was effectively reversed. Yangquan has vigorously promoted ecological restoration, implemented the demonstration project of hillock ecological management, and reached a forest coverage rate of 28.5%.

Unswervingly implement the concept of sharing, and continuously improve people’s well-being

Yangquan has adhered to the people-centered development thinking, effectively protected and improved people’s livelihood, and continuously enhanced the people’s senses of acquisition, happiness, and security. It has continuously increased the investment in people’s livelihood. In 2018, the expenditure on the people’s livelihood accounted for 80.73% of the general public budget expenditure. The City has prioritized poverty alleviation, promoted “the seven major actions”, and organized and implemented the poverty alleviation project of “100 Enterprises Help 100 Villages”. In 2018, Yangquan City completed the tasks of helping the last 32 poverty-stricken villages and 3,300 poor people overcome poverty, taking the lead in the elimination of poverty-stricken villages within the Province. It has well planed the works concerning people’s livelihood, and maintained at the provincial forefronts for various people’s livelihood indicators such as the urban and rural subsistence allowances, the urban destitute personnel support, the rural destitute personnel decentralized and centralized support standards. In 2018, the urban registered unemployment rate was 3.07%, which was lower than the provincial control target; a total of 5,143 urban and rural shanties were newly renovated, ranking first in the Province. Yangquan has played a good job in preventing and resolving major risks, firmly established the philosophy of valuing both stability and development, and constantly improved the security line and emergency response mechanism.

Unswervingly and comprehensively administer the Party strictly, and strengthen the overall leadership of the Party

Yangquan has resolutely shouldered the political responsibility of managing the Party, carried out various forms of study and education, strengthened the power of faith, and continuously deepened the learning of President Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It has been strict with the political life within the Party, strengthened the power of the system, and constantly enhanced Party members’ and cadres’ the consciousness to standardize their work; it has increased the supervision and discipline, strengthened accountability, and constantly created a good political ecology for the transformation and rise; it has built a cadre team, strengthened the power responsibility, and constantly encouraged Party members and cadres to shoulder responsibilities for dangers and difficulties, and realized constant improvements of the political leadership, ideological leadership, mass organization, and social appeal of the Party organizations at all levels. Today, Yangquan is standing at a new historical starting point. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Yangquan has further kept firmly in mind the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment. Yangquan has strengthened confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Yangquan has resolutely upheld General Secretary Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and resolutely upheld the Party Central Committee’s authority and its centralized unified leadership, the City is centering on “the three major goals” (being a demonstration zone of the provincial Party committee, a bellwether, and a new highland), comprehensively expanding the Party building and the new situation of the Party’s cause on the basis of realizing the transformation from chaos to orderly management and from weakness to thrive, and striving to write the Yangquan chapter in the new-era socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Guan Jianxun, Secretary of Yangquan CPC Party Committee

Lei Jiankun, Mayor of the People’s Government of Yangquan City