Improved outlook for Pingyao industry

Pingyao industry has grown smoothly during the first three quarters of 2016, as 40 local companies contributed 6.17 billion yuan ($911.96 million) in industrial output, achieving year-on-year growth of 1.6 percent.

The industrial added value of these companies amounted to 1.72 billion yuan, representing year-on-year growth of 6.2 percent.

The rise in the industrial economy is embodied not only in the output of local industry, but also in the increasing value of industrial products, such as coal and coke, as well as in the accelerated upgrading of the county's pillar industries.

As the Pingyao government has enacted policies and taken measures to solve overcapacity in the coal industry, the businesses associated with coal have again become profitable.

Meanwhile, Pingyao has been transforming its existing manufacturing and food industries. Some innovative products, including stone-made paper by Shanxi Yuhao Green Paper and light guide plates made by the Pingyao Coal Chemical Group, have sprung up and helped boost the economy.

Indeed, Pingyao has a relatively weak local economy, especially in the industrial sector, despite its boom in cultural promotion and tourism. In the coming five years, the local authority will focus on fostering six traditional industries and emerging industries.

More investment and technology will be introduced to the Pingyao Economic-Technological Development Zone where two industrial parks have settled in the hope of encouraging a more sustainable local economy and boosting competitive industries, according to Zhang Maochun, vice director of Pingyao economic and commercial food bureau.