Province Introduction of China: Jiangxi

Key Information 
 















































  
 
  
Introduction
Jiangxi province is situated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, locked in on all sides by the neighboring provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Hubei and Anhui. It has a forest coverage rate of 59.7% and is home to the nation’s largest freshwater lake, Poyang Lake. Like many other provinces in China, Jiangxi is rich in mineral deposits. In particular, it has huge reserves of copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, and rock salt. It is also famous for local traditional products such as china produced in Jingdezhen.

Economic Overview
Jiangxi’s GDP grew by 15.1% in 2006. Industry was the leading contributor to the province’s growth, with a growth rate of 21.0% year-on-year and a 49.7% share of GDP. Services also contributed substantially to the province’s GDP, with a 33.5% share and a growth rate of 10.7% year-on-year. Agriculture lagged behind both sectors, with only a 16.8% share of GDP and a growth rate of 8.1% year-on-year. Figure 11.5.1 illustrates the three sectors’ shares of GDP. 
  

 
The same year also saw Jiangxi’s fixed asset investments grow by 23.3%. These investments were mainly in the manufacturing and real estate sectors. Figure 11.5.2 illustrates this and shows the other sectors where fixed asset investments occurred.   
  

 




Jiangxi’s consumer market lags behind that of other provinces, ranking 21st in terms of retail sales of consumer goods. Most of the goods consumed are food, clothing and household articles. Major consumer centers in this province are located in Nanchang, Jiujiang and Jingdezhen. 
 
 









Agriculture
While agriculture in Jiangxi lags behind industry and services, it is one of the third largest rice-producing provinces in China in terms of output. It produced 17.7 million tons of rice in 2006, contributing to 9.7% of the nation’s total rice output. In addition, its output of freshwater fish was ranked fifth in 2006.  

Industry
Jiangxi’s pillar industries are the metallurgy, chemical, food processing, automobile, electrical appliance and pharmaceutical industries. Table 11.5.2 shows the number of enterprises in these industries as well as their gross industrial output and weight.   
  

 









The metallurgy industry had grown rapidly in terms of output volume and revenue. It has the highest growth rate of value-added industrial output among all the industries in 2006 (growth rate reached 69.5%). Metals processed here include iron, steel and copper. Home to the biggest copper mine in Asia (located in Dexing), it is a major source of copper for most copper companies. Key players in this industry are Jiangxi Copper Corp and Xinyu Iron&Steel Corp.Starting from the 1960s, automobile manufacturing in Jiangxi had focused on the development of light and compact cars. In 2006, 241,056 automobiles were produced and the industry had revenue of RMB 22 billion. Most of the automobile technologies were introduced from outside of the province as the province has little R&D capability. Famous companies in the automobile industry are Jiangling Motors Corp and Jiangxi Changhe Motor Corp. 
 
Another key industry is the electrical appliance manufacturing industry. It had a 95.2% growth in investments in 2006, receiving RMB 4.6 billion worth of investments in merely one year. At present, there are 27 projects with investments of over RMB 100 million. Appliances manufactured here are mainly digital audio-visual products and home air conditioners. AUX (Nanchang) Corp is one of the key manufacturers of air conditioners. The food processing industry is also growing in the province. It had RMB 7.6 billion worth of investments in 2006, 61.1% higher than in 2005. There are currently 35 projects with investments of over RMB 100 million. Cigarette production is a key sub-industry in food processing. A famous company in this sub-industry is Nanchang Cigarette Corp.  
 
Jiangxi’s pharmaceutical industry concentrates on the development of Chinese medicine. It has a high concentration of industrial groups such as Huiren Group and Jiangzhong Medical Corp. As for the chemical industry, it focuses on the development of petrochemical, silicone and dry cement. A major company in this industry is Jiujiang Petrochemical Corp. 
 
Services
Banking, insurance and real estate are the key service industries in Jiangxi. By the end of 2006, financial institutions had deposit and loan balances of RMB 521.4 million and RMB 346.1 million respectively. These institutions also had an annual cash income of RMB 3.5 trillion, representing an increase of 16.6% from 2005. Accumulated net cash investment in this industry also reached RMB 1.3 billion in the same year. 
 
The insurance industry also witnessed considerable growth, with gross premiums having grown by 9.4% in 2006. Out of the total gross premiums of RMB 9.8 billion, 76.9% came from life insurance and 23.1% was from property insurance. As for the real estate industry, gross investment increased by 14.1% to RMB 34.4 billion. The 1,328 enterprises in this industry also posted combined revenue of RMB 48.5 billion.   

Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment
Total imports and exports grew by 48.2% in 2006. Major export products include clothing, mechanical and electrical products, rolled steel, textile and copper, while major import products include mechanical and electrical products, copper ore, hi-tech products, iron ore and copper. As presented in Table 11.5.3, Jiangxi conducts a substantial amount of trade with the U.S. and Japan.  
 
The U.S. is the province’s fifth largest import source and top export destination, while Japan is the province’s third largest import source and export destination. Other key trading partners are Chile, Taiwan, Australia, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and South Korea.   
 










 
While Hong Kong may not be a key source of imports, it is the main source of FDI for Jiangxi, providing 51.7% of the province’s total FDI. he U.S., Taiwan, Singapore and Japan are other key sources of FDI. This is illustrated in Figure 11.5.3 below. 
 












   
 
Major Development Zones
Two major development zones in Jiangxi are Nanchang Economic and Technological Development Zone and Nanchang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone. Table 11.5.4 shows the major development zones’ land area and pillar industries.




  

 
Nanchang Economic&Technological Development Zone (NETDZ)  
Nanchang Economic&Technological Development Zone (NETDZ) has a land area of 118 square kilometers. Pillar industries of this zone include the manufacturing of electrical appliances and automobiles, food processing and pharmaceuticals. The zone has a good transport infrastructure, with an international container terminal, bonded warehouse center, international airport, freight terminal, and transportation hubs of four highways linking the cities all over the country.  
 
Nanchang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone  
Nanchang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone has almost double the land area of NETDZ with similar pillar industries. It is also conveniently located, being 10 km away from the nearest river port, 3 km away from the train station, and 25 km away for the airport. At present, there are more than 200 foreign enterprises in the zone, such as Microsoft, Kohler, and ABB.   
   
Education
Jiangxi has 66 universities and colleges with 770,525 students and 12,149 graduates. The leading university in this province is Nanchang University, which specializes in material processing engineering, food science and engineering, mechanical engineering, and clinical medicine.  
 
Home to 115 research institutes, Jiangxi has a high R&D expenditure of RMB 6.9 billion. This amount contributes 1.5% to the province’s total GDP. 
 
Major Cities in Jiangxi
There are altogether 11 cities in Jiangxi province. As demonstrated in Table 11.5.1, Nanchang, the capital of the province, has the highest economic growth, as evident in its GDP of RMB 100.8 billion and FDI of US$935.2 million. Other cities in this province lag behind Nanchang in this respect.   
 















 
Given its economic importance in the province, the following subsection provides a brief overview of the city of Nanchang. 
   
Nanchang



















 
Introduction
Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi, is the center of the province’s economy, politics and culture. It is the only provincial capital city which is adjacent to both the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta.  
 
Investment Climate
Nanchang is the largest industrial city in Jiangxi. The nation’s first aircraft, tractor, motorcycle, and coast-defense missile were produced in Nanchang. Over the past 30 years, Nanchang’s urban area has expanded five-fold. Major industries in the city include metallurgy, automobile, aviation, electronics, textile, chemical industry, medicine, foodstuff and paper-making. Jiangling Motors Corp and Nanchang Cigarette Corp represent two of the key industrial players.
 
Foreign Investment
Nanchang is one of the major destinations of FDI in Jiangxi. In 2006, utilized FDI rose by 12.7% from the previous year, investment volume reached US$1.2 billion, and there were a total of 174 newly approved foreign invested projects. Given the large amount of foreign investment flowing into the city, by the end of 2006, Nanchang had established friendly ties with 28 cities overseas.  
 
Important Travel Information
Time taken to travel from Nanchang Changbei International Airport to:  
- Chongqing
- Beijing
- Shanghai
- Guangzhou
- Chengdu
- Harbin
- Xian
- Hong Kong
 2 hours 20 mins
1 hour
1 hour 15 mins
2 hours 5 mins
4 hours 30 mins
1 hour 20 mins
1 hour 40 mins
1 hour 40 mins