Vorstellung ueber China [in Englisch]

City and countryside

Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong – when we think of China, these booming metropolises are usually what we have in mind. Indeed, most the population and economic power is concentrated around the capital and in the coastal regions of the People’s Republic. However, Zhongguo, as the Middle Kingdom is called in Chinese, also has an enormous hinterland that is little known in the West, and it is now poised to make the leap into the modern age. The countryside is opening up – even to foreign investors. The demographic dimensions that this involves can be seen by the example of the Sichuan region of Central China, which is home to 84 million people – more than the Federal Republic of Germany. Even the sparsely populated Inner Mongolia in the north of the People’s Republic has a population larger than that of most European nations: 24 million people.

Critical size. China is the fourth largest country on earth, after Russia, Canada and the United States. The country covers 4,500 kilometers from north to south, and the same distance from east to west.

The cities and regions along the coasts as well as the large and navigable rivers are well connected to international transportation arteries.

However, developing the hinterland will be one of China’s greatest challenges over the next few years, and it is a task of enormous political, economic and social importance. For the only way to equalize the various stages of development in the different parts of the country is by modernizing the transportation and communications infrastructure in these regions.

From a planned to a market economy. Over the past 25 years, the Chinese government has steered a successful course from a planned economy to a prosperous market economy. Former state-run enterprises have gained greater autonomy, a greater portion of agricultural production is in private hands, a functioning stock market has emerged, and private companies now exist. Most importantly, the country, its economy and its people have sought contact with the global markets and opened themselves up to foreign investors. As a result of all these efforts, the gross domestic product (GDP) has grown tenfold since 1978.

By 2010, it will have increased another 45 percent. In terms of buying power, China was the world’s second largest economy in 2005, after the United States. And the economy continues to grow at a current rate of ten percent each year.

The downside of success. However, progress comes at a price, as it does in any country that goes through a phase of accelerated economic development. The Beijing government must nevertheless deal with problems on a scale beyond anything known in the West. Social development is especially important in the countryside, outside the metropolitan areas. This means creating jobs – not just in the millions, but in the tens of millions. In addition, the “one child” policy of family planning means that China now has one of the most rapidly aging populations in the world.

Another issue of great concern is the environment. In particular, air pollution, soil erosion and sinking ground water levels have taken on alarming proportions. Some cities and regions have become ecological disaster zones, due to their rapid economic growth

The authorities have identified the problem and are now taking steps to solve it. Research and development projects as well as investments focus on this area. State-of-the-art industrial filter systems, intelligent and ecologically compatible traffic systems as well as sustainable water supply and waste water purification plants have been built.

Energy conservation as a government goal. To supply 1.3 billion people with adequate energy, the country’s leaders have taken radical measures in recent years. One example is the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in Central China – a highly controversial project due to its effects on the environment and the need to resettle hundreds of thousands of people. However, Beijing points out advantages such as the ability to generate enormous amounts of energy through hydroelectric power plants and better protection against flooding. By 2010, the government plans to cut energy use by 20 percent per unit of GDP.

Both the Communist Party leadership and the National People’s Congress – the Parliament – agree that resource conservation should be a fundamental policy objective.

City of contrasts

When the residents of Chongqing go to work in the morning, Siemens rides along with them. After all, the urban light rail system, in operation since 2004, is equipped with control technology, power supply and signal systems supplied by the company. Chongqing is something special, even in Chinese terms. With a population of nearly 32 million, Chongqing is the largest city in the world. Along with Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, it is also one of China’s direct-controlled municipalities. This means that it does not belong to a province or an autonomous region, but instead is administered directly by the central government.

However, the population size is relative when viewed from the perspective of Chongqing’s history. In fact, “only” four million people live within the actual city limits. In March 1997, the Chinese parliament decided to combine the eastern part of the Sichuan province with the actual metropolis to form the “direct-controlled municipality” of Chongqing. The two cities of Wanxian and Fuling were also added to the new administrative unit.

Capricious geography. In terms of geography, the region has advantages and disadvantages. A negative aspect is its distance from the capital and coastal areas. It is 1,500 kilometers to Beijing and another thousand kilometers to Shanghai by water. Until the Three Gorges Dam was completed, only small ships were able to reach the city on the Yangtze River. Many people who were resettled during the dam’s construction found a new home in Chongqing.

On the positive side, Chongqing is located in the Red Basin, China’s “rice bowl”. The region has a mild climate, diverse vegetation and advanced irrigation systems. The land here has been worked intensively since the third century B.C. The Red Basin is also rich in natural gas and coal deposits. Other mineral resources, such as barium, strontium and mercury, are also extremely important to industry.

Spearheading development. These favorable conditions have turned Chongqing into a booming industrial city. Industrial plants were located here even before the Second World War and after the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949.

The economic reforms instituted under Deng Xiaoping, China’s strongman from 1976 into the 1990s, caught on faster here than anywhere outside the coastal regions. In the mid-1990s, the central government decided that Chongqing would spearhead development in China’s underdeveloped West. The full investment program between 2000 and 2005 amounted to 75 billion US dollars, 22 billion of which went to the city and region along the Yangtze.

Expanding the infrastructure. This program created new jobs and maintained old ones for 30 million people. Homes, roads, schools and hospitals had to be built. Residents needed a reliable supply of water and electricity.

Support for finding economical, long-term solutions to infrastructure problems was needed. Siemens supplied building technology for the city’s new international airport as well as for the trade show building and numerous hotels.

State-of-the-art technology provides mobility. Chongqing has a tradition of building automobiles and motorcycles. The largest company is the Chang’an Automotive Group, which employs 43,000 people.

The Group has founded two joint ventures with Suzuki and Ford over the past fifteen years, making it the fourth largest vehicle manufacturer in the country. Siemens is one of Chang’an's key suppliers, providing products such as airbag control and locking systems, alarm systems and sensors as well as instruments. These products are manufactured in Siemens’ Chinese plants, since a large share of local production is a key factor in success on the local auto market.

Ultrasound to fight cancer. Siemens also has cooperative arrangements with medical companies. Since early 2006, the Group has been cooperating with the Chongqing Haifu Technology Company (Haifu). Magnetic resonance imaging technology from Siemens, combined with Haifu’s experience in ultrasound therapy, enables tumors to be visualized and treatment delivered right where it’s needed. Haifu President Wang Zhibiao is happy with the arrangement. “Thanks to our collaboration with Siemens, we can make our innovative cancer treatment available to patients all over the world.”

Precious water for Beijing
“The country is facing the enormous challenge of how to best use water resources and to close future supply gaps through waste water purification,” says Hans Werner Linne, head of Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services (I&S) in China, describing current and future water management efforts in the Middle Kingdom. Around 1.3 billion people in homes, workshops and offices, along with industry and agriculture, need a reliable and economical supply of this precious resource.

The disposal or purification of waste water is just as important as ensuring a supply of water. Due to the scarcity of this liquid resource and the sheer size of the country, China has no alternative but to recycle its water. Sea water desalinization is also high up on the list of priorities. The process is a promising investment, considering the country’s 14,000-kilometer coastline and opportunities to export this technology.

Industry with a future. Experts predict that China’s water purification industry will experience an annual growth rate of 15 percent. “This growth is driven, in part, by rising demands on the infrastructure as well as approaching major events, such as the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and Expo 2010 in Shanghai,” says Roger Radke, head of Water Technologies at Siemens.

The Chinese government expects that cities and urban centers in the People’s Republic will need 800 to 900 new drinking water purification plants by 2010 in order to achieve a three percent increase in annual production of this number one foodstuff. Over the same period, the number of waste water purification plants must more than double from the current 700, which will increase purification capacity by ten percent per year.

Growth in China goes hand in hand with the need for solutions to purify water in cities and industry. Investments in these purification measures are therefore likely to run to four billion euros by 2010
High-tech solutions for clean water. In China, Siemens uses tried-and-tested methods for purifying drinking and waste water. This includes treatment with membrane filters and wet-air oxidation systems, disinfection with chlorine as well as electrode ionization and biological treatment methods.

Siemens works closely together with local partners in China. Tianjin National Water Equipment & Engineering Co, Ltd., a joint venture in which Siemens holds a majority share, manufactures innovative products for water and waste water purification which meet local standards.

Outstanding purification technology. In 2006, Beijing Drainage Group hired Siemens to modernize the Bei Xiaohe waste water treatment plant and supply it with the world’s most advanced membrane filter technology.

Located in the northern part of Beijing, the purification plant went online in 1990 on the occasion of the Asian Games. It currently has a daily processing capacity of 40,000 cubic meters. By 2008, this capacity is expected to rise to 100,000 cubic meters. The plant will then supply pool and service water to the capital’s Olympic Park and other facilities.

Customer proximity pays off. Water purification will be one of the greatest challenges facing the People’s Republic in the years to come. As a result, Siemens China will also make this industry a key focus of its work. A local presence is extremely important to accomplish this goal. “We are currently represented in 42 locations in China,” says I&S CEO Hans Werner Linne. “This puts us in direct proximity to our customers.” Siemens also cooperates with 16 universities and the National Engineering Center for Urban Water and Wastewater. Siemens is in a good position to continue supplying reliable and future-oriented products and solutions for long-term water purification efforts in the Middle Kingdom.