The Shanxi (Bohai Sea Rim) Advanced Manufacturing Promotion Conference was held on June 24 in the port city of Tianjin, on the shores of the Bohai Sea in North China.

Among those attending were more than 140 executives in charge of advanced manufacturers in the Bohai Sea Rim region, as well as officials from Shanxi's provincial government departments, universities, municipal investment promotion departments, development zones, State-owned enterprises and private enterprises. 

The conference promoted Shanxi's industrial layout, business environment and preferential policies, especially its advanced manufacturing development plan during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25). 

The event aimed to boost commercial exchanges between Shanxi and the Bohai Sea Rim region's advanced manufacturing enterprises and get more businesses from the Bohai Sea Rim to invest in Shanxi. 

A total of eight projects with investment of 2.64 billion yuan ($408.71 million) in total were signed on site. The projects involved advanced manufacturing, new materials and modern service industries. 

To date, Shanxi has developed a manufacturing industry focusing on coal machinery, heavy machinery, rail transit, coal-bed methane, coal chemicals and basic equipment sectors. 

Its equipment design and manufacturing capabilities are reportedly at the forefront of the country. Its advantages in energy and raw materials are said to have laid a solid foundation for the growth of advanced manufacturing. 

From January to May, revenue from Shanxi's equipment manufacturing industry grew 35.7 percent year-on-year, which was 18 percentage points higher than the province's average industrial growth rate. From January to March, strategic emerging industries, such as high-end equipment manufacturing, new generation information technology and new energy vehicles, maintained more than double digit growth.