From mining to big data : Inner Mongolia's economic development

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2017-08-08 08:44:53

chinadaily.com.cn

　　This year is the 70th anniversary of China's North Inner Mongolia autonomous region. In this time, the region's economy has expanded from 537 million yuan ($78 million) in 1947 to 1.86 trillion yuan ($270 billion) in 2016, according to cctv.com.

　　Its economic structure has diversified from a single focus on mineral resource exploitation to embrace new energy, big data and cloud computing, new material, energy saving and environmental protection, high-end equipment manufacturing, traditional Mongolian medicine and biotechnology.

　　A rare earth magnet is displayed in the showroom at Inner Mongolia Baotou Steel Rare-Earth Hi-Tech Co in Baotou, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo/Xinhua]

　　Last year, the region cut 3.3 million tons of coal overcapacity and 2.91 million tons of steel, cctv.com reported. Its coal industrial value-added output accounting for 21.9 percent of its large-scale industrial value-added output in 2016, a 9 percent decrease from six-year ago.

　　Baotou, a city in the region, has more than 80 percent of China's rare earth reserves. In 2015, rather than selling the rare raw materials at a low price, the city cooperated with the Chinese Academy of Sciences to build a research center to explore rare earth uses in many areas.

　　Now, the center works with Baotou Iron and Steel Group (Baogang Group) to produce steel with added rare earth element with an annual output value estimated at 10 billion yuan.

　　Big data and cloud computing

　　Benefiting from strong electricity power supply at a low price and a cool climate for storing servers, Inner Mongolia is actively developing big data and cloud computing industries.

　　It has set a goal of building the largest data center in North China, and expects to have more than 3 million servers in use over the next three to five years.

　　"The output of the big data industry in the region is expected to surpass 100 billion yuan by 2020," Bu Xiaolin, chairwoman of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, said.

　　New energy

　　Inner Mongolia is speeding up the development and construction of new energy industries.

　　It's installed wind power capacity has reached 26.1 million kilowatts, while installed solar power capacity is 6.9 million kilowatts, according to China Electric Power News.

　　The region has the largest integrated wind power grid in China.

　　Infrastructure

　　Over the past 70 years, infrastructure in Inner Mongolia has been upgraded.

　　By the end of 2016, the region's highway mileage reached 190,000 kilometers compared to 1,021 kms in 1947, while railway mileage reached 137,000 kms in 2016, up from 1,800 kms in 1947, according to ce.cn.

　　On Aug 3, Inner Mongolia's first high-speed railway linked Ulanqab and Hohhot was launched.

　　Last year, Jining Airport was built in Ulanqab League, bringing the number of civil airports in the region to 24. They are located in 12 cities and leagues, according to nmgcb.com.cn.

　　Agriculture

　　Inner Mongolia is advancing its modern agriculture.

　　By tying positioning devices on sheep, herdsmen can remotely tend to their sheep from home with the help of their smartphones.

　　As agro-processing enterprises optimized their production line, and began deep processing their produce, the output and added value of agriculture products in the region has increased.

　　Currently, Inner Mongolia's output of milk, cashmere and mutton is the biggest in China. In 2016, its agricultural and animal processing products industrial value-added output reached 131.68 billion yuan, accounting for 17 percent of its industrial value-added output, according to Xinhua.

　　Foreign trade

　　The region's foreign trade hit 49.55 billion yuan in the first half of this year, a 44.1 percent jump from the same period last year, Inner Mongolia's Hohhot customs said.

　　During the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15), Inner Mongolia's actual use of foreign capital reached $19.78 billion, a rise of 53.3 percent from the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-10), according to people.com.cn.

　　E-commerce

　　E-commerce is booming in China's northern region.

　　Last year, e-commerce transactions in Inner Mongolia reached 322.36 billion yuan, more than double the previous year, according to people.com.cn.