Workers test a new production line at Yuncheng-based new packaging material manufacturer Qilong. [Photo by Chang Qi for China Daily]

After three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Shanxi's economy is on track for a strong recovery this year.

The economic resilience is demonstrated by the fact that local manufacturers are securing growing numbers of orders.

For Liu Panpan, an executive at Hongsheng Kewei Mining Materials based in Jincheng city, Jan 28 was the first work day after the Spring Festival holiday. And that day her company also secured the first order of the new lunar year.

"This is an order for mining shaft supporting materials, worth about 7 million yuan ($1.03 million)," Liu said.

To fulfill this order and the new ones that follow, Liu said her company is gearing up to full capacity.

This is also the case with Ji'an Electric based in the city of Changzhi.

Hu Long, a manager for production at the company, said they have been operating at full capacity since Jan 28 to produce anti-explosion products for orders amounting to 70 million yuan.

In the Shanxi Transformation and Comprehensive Reform Demonstration Zone, the leading development zone in the province, most of the enterprises resumed normal operations by Jan 31.

Zhonghang Lantian is a manufacturer of special-purposed vehicles based in the zone. Its employees are working three shifts a day to meet the orders from both home and abroad.

"Our largest order at present is from a Brazilian buyer for self-dumping trucks," said Han Hailong, a production manager at the company. "With new orders coming, we are very positive about our growth this year."

Shanxi's economic transformation strategy, which highlights reducing reliance on coal mining and related heavy industries and forming emerging industries, has also contributed to the current economic development.

The province has formed a number of strategic emerging industries, including new energy, new materials, integrated circuits, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing. These sectors have developed into new growth areas for the provincial economy.

In the past year, Shanxi's strategic emerging industries reported a year-on-year increase of 15.5 percent, 7.5 percentage points higher than the average of Shanxi's industrial growth.

In Yuncheng city, workers at local new packaging material manufacturer Qilong were busy testing its new production line on Jan 28.

With this new line in place, Qilong is expected to produce 25,000 metric tons of nylon packaging materials a year, with annual revenue estimated at 500 million yuan, according to the company's executives.

The energy sector, which is in the process of upgrading traditional coal mining with advanced technologies and strengthening the development of new energy resources, is a major area for Shanxi's industrial transformation.

The provincial government recently released a plan for the industry's development, predicting that by 2025 about 95 percent of the coal output will be produced at advanced facilities featuring smarter, safer, cleaner and more efficient operations. It also expects the power generation capacity from new energy resources will total 80 million kilowatts that year.

Wu Jia contributed to this story.