We interact with numbers every moment of our lives, and each number carries a special meaning.

The same holds true in investment promotion work, where numbers take on different forms and meanings, guiding the work of investment promoters.

If investment promotion professionals can understand and effectively apply these numbers and concepts, their professional goals and direction may become much clearer. Today, let’s take a closer look at these numbers together.

01 The "One Chessboard" Mindset

What does “the big picture” mean? As the saying goes, “One wrong move can ruin the entire game.” Clearly, a chess game is a unified whole, where the pieces are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. Every move must consider its impact on the entire board to ensure ultimate victory.

Those who fail to consider the whole cannot effectively manage a single part. The “big-picture” mindset serves as the guiding principle for national economic development and is also flexibly applied in local investment promotion efforts.

Upon closer examination, attracting investment along industrial chains and planning industrial clusters are, in essence, manifestations of the “big-picture” mindset—the only difference being the scale of the “board.”

Today, as Beijing diverts non-capital functions, surrounding regions such as Tianjin, Hebei, and the Xiongan New Area have benefited. Yet Beijing’s strength has not diminished but grown, and the gap with Shanghai, China’s leading economic city, has gradually narrowed. Last year, both cities even reached the 4 trillion yuan mark together. Meanwhile, the surrounding cities, benefiting from the transfer of industries, have also shown strong momentum in their development.

02 Two Maps and Two Databases

With the development of big data technology, digital tools have evolved into bridges connecting investment promoters and investors, facilitating communication and cooperation. The “Two Maps and Two Databases” have become essential tools for investment promotion.

The specific components of the "Two Maps and Two Databases" vary by region. The "Two Maps" generally refer to two of the following: investment heat maps, industrial landscape maps, and industrial ecosystem development roadmaps; the "Two Databases" generally refer to investment promotion databases and project databases.

Big data is at the core of these maps and databases.

The Investment Heat Map provides investors with comprehensive and efficient investment guidance. Presented in the form of a single map, it consolidates key elements of interest to investors—such as investment tours, industrial platforms, featured projects, and preferential policies—allowing the level of interest to be immediately apparent at a glance. It represents a sincere invitation from the government to enterprises.

The Industry Panorama and the Industrial Ecosystem Development Roadmap are designed around local target industries, clearly identifying key links in the industrial chain and potential target enterprises. At the same time, investment promotion officers can accelerate the pace of investment promotion in a timely manner based on pre-planned directions and pathways.

The focus of the two databases is on building a reserve; they periodically screen and incorporate a batch of prospective enterprises and projects into the system. By using the two maps to guide work and relying on the two databases to drive progress—while targeting key areas such as leading enterprises and specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative SMEs—we can accelerate the aggregation of high-quality projects.

03 Integration of Production, Living, and Ecology

The concept of “production, living, and ecology” is likely familiar to everyone; the integration of these three elements constitutes a development model supported by all three.

The theory of the integration of production, living, and ecology was proposed by a professor in response to the development of characteristic towns, and it shares a similar essence with the path of industry-city integration in industrial parks. The addition of “ecology” to these three elements is also one of the key points that the state has placed particular emphasis on in recent years.

A series of policy measures, such as the "Dual Carbon" economy and dual-control of energy consumption, are all aimed at winning the battle for ecological construction.

The introduction of these policies and concepts signifies a shift in investment attraction strategies and an upgrade in industrial structure. Through a combination of positive incentives and negative pressure, we will accelerate technological innovation and capacity upgrades in outdated industries.

04 Four Major Mega-Projects

In February of this year, “East Data, West Computing” was arguably one of the hottest buzzwords. With eight regions launching the construction of national computing hub nodes and plans for 10 national data center clusters, the “East Data, West Computing” project was officially launched.

The launch of “East Data, West Computing” has reminded people of three other national mega-projects: the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, the West-to-East Gas Pipeline Project, and the West-to-East Power Transmission Project.

All four projects aim to address resource shortages in specific regions by redistributing and transporting abundant resources from other areas to resource-constrained regions.

However, each of these mega-projects does more than simply redistribute resources; they also drive industrial transformation in the cities along their routes. The "West-to-East Gas Pipeline" and "West-to-East Power Transmission" projects have addressed the issues of short industrial chains and low innovation capacity in the western regions’ energy and power sectors.

It is clear, therefore, that the "East Data, West Computing" initiative is an excellent solution that kills two birds with one stone: it addresses the shortage of computing power in eastern cities while simultaneously upgrading the industrial structure in western cities.

Shortly after the launch of the "East Data, West Computing" initiative, a large number of companies in the upstream of the industrial chain saw their stock prices surge on the back of the concept.

This demonstrates that it is not difficult for governments and enterprises in computing hub regions to seize this opportunity for industrial upgrading. Crucially, whoever can take the lead in innovation, meet the planned targets, and overcome current technical challenges will reap enormous returns and growth potential, soaring to new heights.

05 Five National-Level Metropolitan Areas

In March, the Xi’an Metropolitan Area emerged, marking the fifth metropolitan area plan approved at the national level following those for Nanjing, Fuzhou, Chengdu, and the Changzhutan region.

Today, rapid urbanization is driving the development of metropolitan areas, and since “metropolitan areas” form the “core” of urban clusters, their planning has become an inevitable trend.

Policy support and resource allocation at the national level are also attracting cities such as Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Chongqing, and Qingdao, which are eager to become the next national-level metropolitan areas.

As industrial clusters develop across regions, collaboration between regions is becoming increasingly close. The emergence of metropolitan areas has strengthened the radiating and driving effects of major cities. Centered on major cities and defined by a one-hour commuting radius, these areas serve as spatial platforms that integrate development factors and drive regional economic growth.

As the first metropolitan area approved by the state, the Nanjing Metropolitan Area encompasses six cities in Jiangsu and four in Anhui. In 2021, the GDP of the 10 regions within the Nanjing Metropolitan Area reached 4,666.568 billion yuan, an increase of 491.5 billion yuan compared to 2020. Furthermore, Nanjing’s ability to attract talent has improved, while surrounding cities are simultaneously optimizing their industrial structures through industrial relocation.

It is evident that metropolitan areas have a significant impact on economic development; however, the proliferation of such areas across the country also gives rise to certain challenges.

For instance, smaller cities in the surrounding areas often lack a strong willingness to integrate, preferring not to play a supporting role. Furthermore, many cities overlap across different metropolitan areas, raising the question of which metropolitan area these smaller cities ultimately align with. Only by genuinely addressing these issues can a development landscape characterized by mutual coordination and complementary strengths be established.

06 Six Major Core Economic Circles

As an investment promoter, do you know which regions comprise China’s six major core economic zones?

The answer is: the Bohai Rim Economic Zone, the East China Sea Economic Zone, the South China Sea Economic Zone, the Western Triangle Economic Zone, the Middle Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the Middle Yellow River Economic Belt.

Economic zones and metropolitan areas share similarities but also differ. Economic belts are centered around specific transportation arteries and natural environments, serving as central axes. Economic activity tends to be more vibrant along these lines or around major cities, which play a role in economic aggregation and radiation.

Furthermore, economic zones can encompass metropolitan areas; for example, the Upper and Middle Yangtze River Economic Belt includes the Wuhan Metropolitan Area, the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Urban Cluster, the Chengdu-Chongqing Region, and the Nanchang-Jiujiang Region.

Due to the vast scope of economic belts, advancing their development poses greater challenges. First, regarding transportation, achieving rapid connectivity among all cities within an economic belt is more difficult than within a metropolitan area.

At the same time, because economic belts are long, administrative barriers between regions are difficult to break down, and industrial relocation is challenging; therefore, the economic transformation of cities within an economic belt is difficult to achieve in the short term. However, with this as the goal, long-term leadership is crucial.

07 Seven Major Strategic Industries

As early as 2012, the strategic industrial framework for the “Seven New Sectors” was unveiled, encompassing energy conservation and environmental protection, emerging information industries, the bio-industry, new energy, new energy vehicles, high-end equipment manufacturing, and new materials.

Overnight, these industries became highly sought-after “hot commodities,” with regions scrambling to secure a foothold and rush to establish their presence…

Each of these sectors has established industrial clusters with significant output across the country. Among them, the new energy vehicle industry—with its vast industrial chain and exceptional innovation capacity—has successfully risen to the top as the “leader” of the strategic emerging industries.

Whether it’s Tesla or China’s top-tier “Wei-Xiao-Li” trio, the location choices of new energy vehicle manufacturers always create a stir in investment circles. It is worth noting that investment promotion is inherently a “two-way street”; only by building a robust industrial chain and cluster can a region successfully attract the attention of leading enterprises.