At the Optics Valley of China, a major software park in Wuhan, central China, President Xi Jinping’s dream of building an advanced green economy is taking wing. Set amid three picturesque lakes and six hills, the software park reveals the essence of his ‘Made in China 2025’ strategy. A Chinese adaptation of Germany’s Industry 4.0 model, the optical valley is emblematic of China’s major transition from a low-technology ‘workshop of the world’ to the globe’s digital manufacturing hub. China is scaling the digital world by leveraging the power of the Internet, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence.
Mr. Xi is one of the foremost messengers of a green ‘high-tech economy’. His speeches these days are full of references to China’s future as an “ecological civilisation” existing in “harmony” with the world. His ever-frequent references to “harmony” are a throwback to Confucius, whom he is portraying as one of the emblems of the rise not just of China, but of the entire “eastern civilisation”.
FiberHome, a company in the Optical Valley, exemplifies Wuhan’s ambition to climb the green hi-tech ladder. A peek inside its squeaky clean glass and steel tower shows that China’s state-owned-enterprises may be undergoing a profound transformation. The Optics Valley is a symbol of Wuhan’s ambition to be a pillar of central China’s rise.
Scholars at the Beijing-based think tank China Center for International Economic Exchanges in Beijing explain that the mega development of Wuhan is part of a much bigger economic blueprint to lift the entire geographical belt along the Yangtze “mother river”. The plan is to co-link Chongqing, a metropolis in upstream Yangtze, Wuhan in the middle, and Shanghai delta area as fulcrums of the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB).
“The YREB will have three pivots — Chongqing, Wuhan and Shanghai. It is a pilot region of ecological civilisation based on President Xi’s vision of eco-friendly development,” says Zhang Yansheng, chief research fellow at the institute. Zhang Dawei, vice-chairman of the centre, explains that “quality all-round development, with a much greater focus on ecology, which contrasts with the undifferentiated top-down pursuit of growth rates of the past”, will guide the development of the YREB.
The location advantage
In Chongqing, Wang Zhiqiang, the deputy head of the city’s top planning body, nails the location of the metropolis as the key to its future. “Look at the location of the Guigang multipurpose port on the outskirts of Chongqing. It has a river port on Yangtze, which means that large ships can carry containers to Shanghai,” he observes.
He points out that the port city of Guigang, in eastern Guangxi, is also connected to Europe by a rail corridor to the west. Besides, it is linked to Singapore and other nations in Southeast Asia through a land-cum-sea southern route that passes through the Gulf of Tonkin. Chongqing’s dense connectivity with its relatively less-affluent neighbourhood through high speed rails and mountainous expressways adds to the city’s allure.
From the sunlit terrace of a trendy restaurant in Wuhan overlooking the Yangtze, Feng Xiguo, Deputy Director General of the Foreign Affairs Department of Hubei Province, says that Indian technology companies specialising in software can become natural partners in promoting the rise of central China.
Mr. Feng says that he believes the April informal summit between Mr. Xi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his city provided the perfect platform for a deeper engagement between China and India.
Atul Aneja works for The Hindu and is based in Beijing.