This week, the "Dynamic China Research Tour" theme interview event entered Anhui province. Over a hundred journalists from across the country traveled to Anhui's bustling production lines in the scorching heat. Some were visiting Anhui for the first time, while others had not been there for years, yet all were equally curious about this "internet-famous province." During the journey, hot discussions centered on Changxin Technology, which surged to become the "largest A-share market cap stock," and on Anhui's GDP ranking among the "top ten provinces" in the first half of the year. The question on everyone's mind: How did this once relatively obscure province stage such a turnaround?

Looking beyond the surface, Anhui's character can be defined by a steadfastness as solid as a mountain and a dynamism that surges forward like a surging river. Historically, Huizhou merchants adhered to the philosophy of "being both merchants and scholars, achieving lasting results through perseverance." They did not chase short-term windfalls but instead deeply cultivated industries such as salt, tea, and timber, managing them for generations. This trait of sticking to the real economy, deeply engaging in one's chosen field, and enduring loneliness has now become the underlying logic of Anhui's industrial development.

Steadfastness: The Patience of a Decade-Long Grind

The external amazement at Anhui's frequent "hits on the right track" is actually the result of the province's steadfastness in cultivating industries. It does not waver with short-term trends, nor does it retreat when industries face downturns, patiently waiting for industries to blossom and bear fruit. Hefei's state-owned capital made a decisive move to invest in Changxin Storage, enduring years of losses without profits, and patiently accompanying the company to overcome mass production technology barriers. Looking at pillar industries like new displays and new energy vehicles, they are all fruits nurtured by this steadfastness.

Steadfastness: The Determination to Overcome Difficulties

During the research tour, experts shared the story of Chery Automobile's "23 years and 23 seconds": it has been ranked first in China's passenger car exports for 23 consecutive years. In 2025, a Chery vehicle is exported overseas every 23 seconds on average. People praise Chery's achievements, but even more so, they admire its decisive resolve to face challenges and break through difficulties. In its early days, lacking funds, blueprints, and a mature supply chain, Chery worked day and night to overcome doubts and finally cracked the hard nut of engine technology.

Steadfastness: The Perseverance to Adapt to Local Conditions and Persist Over Time

Anhui rarely develops industries in a haphazard manner. Instead, it pursues a strategy of "leveraging what it has" and "filling in what it lacks." Taking the provincial capital Hefei as an example, the home appliance industry lacked display screens, and at that time, 80% of China's LCD panels were imported. So, in 2008, Hefei invested in BOE. To address the lack of chips in the display industry, it invested in chip projects like Changxin. Recognizing the strategic plan for the new energy vehicle industry and leveraging the local foundation of the fuel vehicle industry, it then "bet" on NIO Inc.. After attracting leading projects, the province continuously strengthens the supply chain, extending and reinforcing it, turning large projects into pillar industries. Looking at the manufacturing hub of Wuhu, based on the Chery automobile industry, it has not only incubated the industrial robotics industry represented by Efort but also cultivated an aviation power industry by relying on automotive engine technology, vividly illustrating the logic of chain-driven growth.

This logic applies to a city and to the entire province. With the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers flowing through it from north to south, Anhui has diverse landscapes and endowments. The province emphasizes industrial development adapted to local conditions, encouraging its 16 cities to find their own characteristic tracks. The millennium-old copper capital, Tongling, is determined to "grasp copper, extend copper, and surpass copper," vertically deploying high-value-added products like electronic copper foil, turning traditional resource endowments into new industrial advantages. The steel city, Ma'anshan, develops special steel, promoting the steel industry to advance into aerospace and high-speed rail materials. Bengbu, rooted in the glass industry, is tackling ultra-thin display glass and foldable flexible glass, cultivating a silicon-based new materials cluster.

If steadfastness allows Anhui to move forward steadily, the vitality of innovation and reform enables the region to go far.

Vitality: The Endless Stream of Scientific and Technological Achievements

Anhui, which gathers many important strategic scientific and technological forces, continues to build a matrix of high-level innovation platforms. It has produced a batch of world-class original achievements, such as the "artificial sun," the "Jiuzhang quantum computer," and the "Mozi" satellite. Innovation has become a "golden signboard" for this central province.

Vitality: The Burst of Systemic and Mechanism Reforms

Reform has always been in the genes of this land, from the pioneering spirit of Xiaogang villagers pressing red handprints to explore the household responsibility system, to the current in-depth promotion of reforms in areas like scientific research decentralization, market-based allocation of factors, and the business environment. These reforms continuously clear development bottlenecks and difficulties, allowing the vitality of innovation, the vitality of the market, and the edge of the industry to fully burst forth. Taking the long-standing problem of "scientific achievements lying dormant" as an example, Anhui was the first to explore the reform of ownership of scientific and technological achievements, promoting the "ownership + transfer + agreed income" model. By bringing in disciplinary inspection and audit departments to participate in the reform in advance, the province effectively solved the problem of researchers being "afraid to transfer" their achievements. Data from the Anhui Provincial Department of Science and Technology shows that as of June 2026, the province had accumulated 2,476 authorized achievements, with an estimated value of 974 million yuan, and 169 authorized enterprises, representing increases of 67.5%, 36.8%, and 50.9%, respectively, compared to June 2025. Scientific research results are accelerating their way to production lines.

Vitality: The Faces of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Anhui's vitality is also written on the faces of those who dedicate their precious youth and lifelong energy to innovation and entrepreneurship. Along the research tour, we encountered corporate leaders who see innovation as their lifeblood, researchers toiling in their laboratories, and frontline workers on the assembly line striving for perfection. Regardless of their backgrounds or ages, they all share immense ambition, investing their time and passion into the currents of the era. This vivid scene of a thousand sails competing and endless vitality clearly reflects the bright and promising future of this land.