(File photo)

On January 14, the Changsha Municipal Bureau of Commerce (CMBC) announced that Changsha’s foreign trade value in 2018 totaled 19.45 billion USD, an increase of 40% over last year, with a growth rate ranking first among capital cities in central China. This marked a new record for its open economy.

In 2018, in order to meet the requirements of the “Year of Industrial Project Construction” program, Changsha issued a three-year action plan to optimize its business environment, and put in place a number of policies and measures to attract foreign businesses and investment. Many international and domestic top 500 enterprises established offices in Changsha, including Flextronics, Continental Group of Germany, Prudential Group of the UK, and China Zheshang Bank. A total of 39 Top 500 enterprise projects and 183 major investment projects were introduced, setting a new record for the total investment volume and quality.

“What stands behind Changsha’s rapid growth in foreign trade is the combined effect of multiple factors, including the transformation and quality improvement of foreign trade, the increased number and improved capability of the foreign trade entities, and the development of open platforms,” said the person in charge of CMBC.

In 2018, in addition to attracting investment, the city has expanded foreign trade and improved its quality to accelerate the pace of “going global”; and promoted the construction of major park projects such as Ethiopia-Hunan Industrial Park and Laos-Xuanye Modern Ecological Agriculture Industrial Park.

Source: en.changsha.gov.cn