Recently, China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone has been officially approved. So 
far, 21 Free Trade Zones have been established in China.

The movement that Hunan joins into the framework of Free Trade Zone will 
contribute for the coordinated development in Central China. Relying on their 
advantageous locations, cities as Yueyang, Changsha and Chenzhou, have grown up 
to be the corridor for international cooperation, investment and trade, 
according to the Department of Commerce of Hunan Province. It is aimed to build 
Hunan a world-class manufacturing cluster and a pilot zone for China-Africa 
economic and trade cooperation.

Owing to the ancient Silk Road and the proposal of Belt and Road Initiative, 
Hunan has come with a good foundation for economic trade cooperation with 
Africa, as they share a high degree of industrial fit and strong market 
complementarity. Hunan has been leading the way in economic and trade 
cooperation with Africa at the level of provinces, cities and autonomous 
regions. In 2019, Hunan not only successfully hosted the first China-Africa 
Economic and Trade Expo, but also won the permanent residence of it. By hosting 
the Expo, Hunan will be able to attract more investments and cooperations. 
Based on the competitive industries, including equipment manufacturing, energy 
and electricity, infrastructure and agricultural processing, Hunan is designed 
to build logistics channels to Africa and explore Hunan mode for China's local 
economic and trade cooperation with Africa.

In 2019, the total import and export value of Hunan exceeded 430 billion yuan 
for the first time, reaching a record high. The growth rate of foreign trade 
was 41.2%, ranking first in the country. Among which, the trade volume to the 
countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative grew by 54%, and the 
import and export volume reached 124.8 billion yuan.

Supported by the existing competitive industries, such as construction 
machinery (SANY and ZOOMLION), railway transportation equipment (CRRC) and 
intelligent equipment (SUNWARD), Hunan sped up the construction of innovation 
platform and industrial Internet, and joined the international competition of 
high-end equipment manufacturing and maintenance, so as to form new advantages 
of participating in global industrial division competition and cooperation. 
This is not only in line with the needs of China's sustainable development, but 
also in line with the world's fourth industrial revolution featuring returning 
to the manufacturing industry through intellectualization.

Source: The Department of Commerce of Hunan Province

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: https://iop.asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=372831

   Caption: The Unveiling Ceremony & Constructing Mobilization Conference of 
China (Hunan) Pilot Free Trade Zone