The city of Ordos in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region has achieved high-quality development through technological innovation, industrial transformation and upgrading, and opening-up.

A view of the solar power farm in China's seven-largest desert Kubuqi [Photo/Ordos Daily]

Technological innovation leads development

From 2012 to 2021, Ordos firmly implemented an innovation-driven development strategy with the goal of becoming one of the top 100 innovative cities in the country.

In 2021, the R&D expenses of enterprises above designated size in the city hit 5.87 billion yuan ($880.72 million), the number of national high-tech enterprises reached 170, and the operating income of high-tech enterprises above designated size came in at 182.69 billion yuan.

Meanwhile, the world's first zero-carbon industrial park was successfully established in the city's Mengsu Economic Development Zone.

The world's first zero-carbon industrial park is established in Ordos. [Photo/Ordos Daily]

Green transformation boosts industrial upgrading

The energy processing conversion efficiency of industrial enterprises above designated size in Ordos increased from 65.8 percent in 2012 to 69.9 percent in 2021, and the local conversion rate of coal reached 21 percent.

Moreover, Ordos promoted the greening of the coal power industry, expanded the scale of the coal-to-gas industry and boosted the modernization of the coal-to-oil industry.

In 2021, Ordos produced 26.01 billion cubic meters of natural gas, a year-on-year increase of 3.1 percent.

By the end of 2021, the city's installed power capacity reached 29.45 million kilowatts, and the installed capacity of new energy and renewable energy reached 4.14 million kW.

The installed capacity of photovoltaic power generation was 2.87 million kW, the installed capacity of wind power reached 445,000 kW, the installed capacity of hydropower hit 760,000 kW, and the installed capacity of biomass came in at 60,000 kilowatts.

New energy power generation has become an emerging industry driving the rapid economic development of banners and districts in the jurisdiction of Ordos.

The Ordos Comprehensive Bonded Zone was officially established in 2021. [Photo/Ordos Daily]

Opening-up drives foreign trade boom

In the past ten years, the city had comprehensively strengthened its opening up to the outside world.

It has focused on promoting the development of an export-oriented economy, and formed a foreign trade pattern in which exports are mainly dominated by automobiles, cashmere and products, electronic products and chemical products, and imports are mainly machinery and equipment, as well as raw cashmere.

In 2017, the Ordos Comprehensive Bonded Zone was approved and established, and cross-border e-commerce trade grew rapidly.

The city's total imports and exports increased from $420 million in 2012 to $1.38 billion in 2021. The total export value increased from $230 million in 2012 to $900 million in 2021, and the total import value jumped from $190 million in 2012 to $480 million in 2021.