Specialized industrial clusters form a vital cornerstone of the county-level economy. Xingtai City currently hosts 44 such clusters, with 21 surpassing 10 billion yuan in annual revenue, along with 5 national-level SME clusters and 15 provincial-level SME clusters. From January to July this year, these clusters generated 384.242 billion yuan in revenue, marking a 7.32% year-on-year increase. The 11th Municipal Party Congress report outlines the strategy to further strengthen these clusters, focusing on enhancing the organizational level of small and medium-sized enterprises, driving green transformation through industrial upgrades, and fostering new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions.

Cultivating Excellence Through Integrated Development

On September 2nd, the production workshops of Hongliang Cable Co., Ltd. in Ningjin County were bustling with activity, manufacturing heat-resistant mining cables with stranded copper conductors. Wang Ruitao, director of the company's quality inspection department, explained that this product, which accounts for 11.6% of the domestic market share in its segment, has earned the company the title of provincial-level manufacturing champion. Around Xingtai City, a comprehensive gradient cultivation system has been established to nurture SMEs, progressing from incubation through rapid growth and expansion phases. Currently, the city has fostered 2,045 innovative SMEs, 869 specialized and sophisticated enterprises, 40 "little giant" enterprises, and 78 provincial-level or above manufacturing champions.

Cai Min, workshop director at Hebei Hanjue Robot Technology Co., Ltd. in Guangzong County, emphasized the importance of relentless innovation for competitive success. Their self-developed pneumatic positioning and clamping tooling system, compatible with 90% of vehicle models, has boosted production efficiency by 24% and gained significant market recognition. The city's commitment to innovation is evident in the full coverage of provincial innovation platforms across key industrial clusters. Moving forward, Xingtai plans to deepen collaboration between government, universities, and enterprises, enhancing the innovation ecosystem to facilitate the efficient utilization of technological resources and elevate the quality of SME development.

Wang Huang, head of the SME division at the Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology, outlined plans to optimize service provisions. The city will pool professional service organizations to strengthen brand cultivation, financing facilitation, and rights protection. By leveraging public service platforms, they aim to streamline supply-demand connectivity and facilitate the two-way flow of technology, equipment, and market resources. Continuous initiatives like "Benefiting Enterprises Together" will ensure policies are directly accessible, invigorating innovation and core competitiveness among quality enterprises.

Green Transformation and Technological Upgrades Revitalize Industries

At Shahe Safety Industry Co., Ltd., a newly upgraded production line for ultra-thick, high-transparency specialty glass operates efficiently. Wang Ning, a company representative, highlighted that the upgraded line, with enhanced environmental protection facilities, achieves a 30% increase in production efficiency, a 15% reduction in energy consumption per unit, and annual carbon emission reductions exceeding 10,000 tons. Xingtai has made significant strides in green manufacturing, creating 11 provincial-level or above green parks, 129 green factories, and 13 green supply chain management enterprises.

Technological transformation is a key pathway for the green renewal of traditional industries. This year, Xingtai has 264 projects included in the provincial key industry and technical transformation list, ranking third in the province with a total investment of around 72.5 billion yuan. The city will continue its technical transformation investment doubling initiative, particularly in traditional sectors like equipment manufacturing, to comprehensively upgrade energy-using equipment and production processes, guiding enterprises toward full-process green reform. By focusing on standards, quality, and brand enhancement, Xingtai is steering its industrial clusters from simple scale expansion towards a qualitative leap forward, balancing ecological benefits with economic and quality gains. Furthermore, the city will prioritize "green content" as a primary criterion for investment attraction and, according to Hou Weiwei from the Municipal Bureau's Science and Energy Conservation Division, will leverage its five provincial-level zero-carbon park pilots and 20 zero-carbon factory cultivation entities to innovate market mechanisms for green power consumption and low-carbon evaluation, creating replicable models for zero-carbon transformation.

Digital and Intelligent Transformation Powered by Computing Infrastructure

The digital transformation of industrial clusters is essential for high-quality development, injecting new momentum. Guo Zizhong, deputy general manager of Hebei Nanguan Technology Co., Ltd. in Qinghe County, noted that their intelligent spinning workshop has reduced production costs by 20% and increased efficiency by 25% compared to traditional setups, with just one employee overseeing a 100-meter production line. Xingtai has accumulated 27 industrial internet platforms and maintains the top provincial ranking for production equipment digitalization rate for four consecutive years. The Taihang Intelligent Computing Center now provides 6,000P of computing power, with ongoing projects like the Baixin Intelligent Complete Machine Manufacturing Base and Yian Tianxia Computing Center set to further expand computing resources.

Zhu Wenjing, head of the Information Industry and Integration Division, indicated plans to accelerate the "Artificial Intelligence+" initiative, integrating AI technologies into research, design, manufacturing, and supply chain management within industrial clusters. The city is also focusing on developing "industry brains" as core platforms for digital transformation. Three such brains have been established, with those for Ningjin's wire and cable and Linxi's bearing industries being recognized at the provincial level, supporting supply-demand matching, production coordination, and factor allocation. Supported by these initiatives—fostering leading enterprises, cultivating specialized SMEs, and building industry benchmarks—Xingtai is striving to achieve qualitative improvements and quantitative growth, accelerate its comprehensive green transition, and elevate its overall economic strength in the new era.