#10 The recalibration of Chinese Central Plains areas
With the pivot to dual-circulation strategy and an emphasis on local circulation, cities strategically located in Central Plains would benefit much.
Have you heard of Zhengzhou city 郑州市 of China? It is the capital of Henan province (河南省) in Central China’s Yellow River Valley which is widely recognised as the place where Chinese civilisation originated.
It was known as 商都 (business capital) as it was once the capital of Shang Dynasty (商朝）.
When one looks at its geographical location, it is not difficult to understand why it was picked as the capital.
As you can see, Zhengzhou is centrally located and as businesses were the prominent economic activity in Shang Dynasty (商 means business), so Zhengzhou’s advantageous geographical position made it a popular choice for trading purpose.
However, since international trade favours coastal cities and so Zhengzhou has become a laggard when compared to Shanghai, Shenzhen etc in modern era.
But my take is that with the dual-circulation strategy announced in 2020 with more weight assigned to local circulation, cities like Zhengzhou would see its economic spring.
This is because as highlighted in the below English video from a foreigner living in Zhengzhou, products like autonomous buses would become common in Zhengzhou. This could mean that Zhengzhou would become a hub manufacturing autonomous buses since the transport costs of delivering such buses to other areas would be cost-efficient. So such local-produced products are meant for local consumption which fits the objective of local circulation.
In addition, the lower wages in hinterland places like Zhengzhou when compared to coastal provinces like Guangdong, Jiangsu etc. would help it to woo investments too.
Indeed, Zhengzhou Yutong Bus, a homegrown company, is making a name for itself in local and overseas markets and it is behind the piloting of the autonomous buses in Zhengzhou.
Zhengzhou-Chongqing HSR 郑渝高铁
Zhengzhou could see a further boost to its economy as the Zhengzhou-Chongqing HSR 郑渝高铁 was officially launched in June this year.
Commuting via this route, travel time from Chongqing to Zhengzhou can be shortened from around 8 hours to 4 hours 23 minutes at the top speed, while the shortest time from Chongqing to Beijing via Zhengzhou will be cut from more than 20 hours to less than 7 hours. The improvements in travelling time would help businesses to set up subsidiaries near the route to boost local economies.
Below are some stunning photos of Zhengzhou-Chongqing HSR：
Finally, below video from an European who is currently living in Zhengzhou city helps one to understand the city and its potentials better.