Turning Insights into Tangible Development

Recently, at the production workshop of Hebei Xinhua Cashmere Products Co., Ltd., staff were observed monitoring the operation of first-generation computerized flat knitting machines. This scene highlights how political proposals serve as a vital mechanism for the People's Political Consultative Conference to fulfill its functions of political consultation, democratic oversight, and participation in state affairs.

This year, the Provincial Committee selected 35 key proposals from a total of 841. Through methods such as grassroots investigations, consultation meetings on proposal implementation, and tracking for effectiveness, these suggestions have been translated into concrete actions. Currently, all 35 key proposals have been fully processed, resulting in a series of effective measures promoting industrial upgrades, rural revitalization, enhanced public welfare, and cultural prosperity.

Digital Transformation Driving Industrial Cluster Upgrades

On August 2nd, inside the Hebei Xinhua Cashmere Products Co., Ltd. factory, rows of digitalized computerized flat knitting machines operated at high speed, with yarn moving back and forth. Here, no manual cutting or sewing is required; a cashmere sweater can be knitted in one piece. "All computers are networked and can be dispatched uniformly. By inputting parameters, we can quickly produce different materials, styles, and order quantities," said General Manager Song Lili.

Qinghe County, a nationally renowned cashmere processing hub and production base, possesses a complete industry chain from raw cashmere procurement, combing, and spinning to knitting and garment making. However, as the industry evolved, the local cluster faced a bottleneck: leading enterprises with high-end equipment investments were underutilized, while small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with demand could not afford the technology. To solve this problem, in February 2024, Hebei Xinhua Cashmere Products Co., Ltd. partnered with Ningbo Cixi Co., Ltd., the world's largest knitting equipment manufacturer, to build a digital factory and a Cashmere First-Forming Research Institute. They centralize the purchase of smart equipment, which cluster enterprises can use through purchase, lease, or consignment processing. According to Song Lili, by July this year, the factory had served over 230 enterprises, produced 15 million cashmere products, and boosted equipment utilization from about 60% to 90%.

The Qinghe practice serves as a window into the upgrading of county-level characteristic industry clusters. The Hebei Provincial Committee of the China Democratic National Construction Association (CDNCA) conducted research in cluster enterprises and industrial parks, systematically identifying obstacles to digital transformation for SMEs and proposing a series of recommendations. "To help more SMEs gain access to advanced technology and market resources, we suggest building industry service platforms in established clusters like equipment manufacturing, textiles, and food processing, led by chain enterprises or third-party operators," said a CDNCA official. "This will promote low-cost, easy-to-deploy digital tools and lower the entry barrier for 'cloud and data' adoption."

The CDNCA also recommended establishing industrial data operation centers within development zones or at leading enterprises. Under the premise of safeguarding business secrets and data security, these centers would integrate and utilize non-sensitive data such as orders, capacity, logistics, and quality standards to support intelligent scheduling, collaborative quality inspection, and supply chain management. To promote these proposals, from July 14th to 15th, the Provincial Committee's Proposal Committee organized representatives and officials from sponsor units to conduct investigative supervision in Handan and Xingtai. They visited enterprises and parks involving steel pipes, fasteners, precision manufacturing, cashmere, and cables to evaluate the effectiveness of different models and address common challenges in scaling up.

"During our research, we found that some digital factories were built, but order intake, platform operations, and professional services lagged behind," said Zhu Xiaoliang, deputy director of the Handan Municipal Committee's University Branch of the CDNCA. "There are still barriers to the flow of technology, data, and talent." These issues became the focus of proposal implementation. A representative from the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology stated they would continue to cultivate demonstration benchmarks and deploy digital transformation promotion centers and service stations in key clusters. They also plan to promote a "cluster digitalization + finance" model to enhance the sustainable operation of digital platforms.

Smart Empowerment Cultivating New Agricultural Productive Forces

On July 30th, in the smart agriculture command center of Hebei Shuai Zhi Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. in Zhengding County, Shijiazhuang, a screen displayed digitally marked farmland. Clicking on a specific plot reveals information on crop varieties, planting times, input usage, and irrigation frequency, allowing staff to monitor progress and dispatch machinery. "The company manages over 10,700 mu of land across 36 administrative villages. Due to the scattered plots and large dispatch radius, relying solely on manual patrols and paper records makes it hard to track production progress in time," said General Manager He Jianwei.

To address management challenges from scaled operations, Shuai Zhi Agriculture began building a smart agriculture cloud platform in 2020, gradually incorporating plowing, planting, management, and harvesting into online management, creating an automatic "farming ledger." This exploration inspired Provincial Committee member Zhao Zengjun. He believes that scaling smart agriculture from pilot projects to widespread application requires unified data standards, suitable intelligent equipment, and a new generation of tech-savvy farmers. In his proposal, "On Accelerating the Development of Smart Agriculture to Cultivate New Agricultural Productive Forces in Hebei Province," Zhao suggested formulating a provincial medium- and long-term smart agriculture development plan, accelerating the construction of an agricultural and rural data resource center to promote cross-level and cross-departmental data sharing. He also called for joint research on agricultural sensors, smart chips, and agricultural robots, building demonstration smart farms and pastures, and using financial subsidies, awards, and government procurement to reduce application costs for operators, while cultivating versatile talent skilled in both agriculture and IT.

To build consensus on proposal implementation, the Provincial Committee held a key proposal consultation meeting in Zhengding County on July 30th. The Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs presented its progress, while co-sponsoring units like the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology and the Provincial Department of Science and Technology responded to committee members' concerns on data sharing, equipment development, scenario building, funding, and talent training. The Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology stated it would focus on large, high-horsepower, intelligent agricultural machinery and small machinery suitable for hilly areas, supporting equipment enterprises to strengthen technological innovation and deeply integrate technologies like Beidou navigation, intelligent control, and the Internet of Things with agricultural machinery. The Provincial Department of Science and Technology reported that Hebei has already implemented the "AI Technology R&D and Application Demonstration for Efficient Wheat-Corn Production" project, and will continue to guide collaborative innovation between enterprises, universities, and research institutes to validate AI and sensor technologies in agricultural production.

"This year, the provincial finance allocated 50 million yuan to support smart agriculture projects, including 10 smart (unmanned) farms, 9 smart facility agriculture projects, and one large-field yield improvement application scenario," said a representative from the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. They plan to develop a provincial medium- and long-term smart agriculture plan, create a "Ji Nong Ma" code, build an integrated "sky-ground" agricultural sensing system, and conduct "field classroom + practical training" for agricultural operators.

Revitalizing Intangible Cultural Heritage to Open New Cultural Tourism Consumption Spaces

On August 2nd, inside the Jianghu Cultural City of Wuqiao Acrobatics World in Cangzhou, an acrobat's call drew a crowd of tourists. "When the gong sounds, the show begins! From 99 to those just learning to walk, everyone in Wuqiao has a hand in acrobatics!" The audience watched as acts of magic and bowl balancing unfolded, with continuous applause. "No matter where you walk in Acrobatics World, there's a show to watch. You can even participate in immersive experiences with the performers—it's both beautiful and fun. This is my second visit this year," said tourist Hu Zhiqiang from Tianjin.

The shift from "performing on stage, watching from the audience" to "being in the scenery, participating in it" has opened new development space for traditional acrobatics. Since the start of the year, Wuqiao Acrobatics World has received 781,100 visitors, a 53.61% year-on-year increase. "The popularity of Wuqiao Acrobatics relies not only on the generational inheritance of acrobats but also on the reconnection of traditional skills with modern scenarios," said a representative from the Hebei Provincial Committee of the China Democratic League (CDL). However, provincially, many intangible cultural heritage (ICH) projects face challenges like a shortage of successors and difficulties in market conversion, preventing a virtuous cycle of inheritance, innovation, and scenario creation.

To revitalize more ICH items, the CDL, in its proposal "On Promoting the Protection and Revitalization of Intangible Cultural Heritage Traditional Skills," prioritized addressing the "who will inherit" issue. It suggested integrating ICH courses into schools, supporting universities to add relevant majors, and improving master-apprentice training and talent incentive mechanisms. It also recommended strengthening cooperation between ICH workshops and design institutions to solve dated product design, improving online and offline sales channels, enhancing public brand and intellectual property protection, and exploring the establishment of an ICH Protection and Development Fund to support the sustainable growth of ICH enterprises and workshops. To drive the transformation of more cultural resources through scenario innovation, the Hebei Provincial Committee of the China Democratic League proposed, in its proposal "Focusing on Innovative Scenarios to Amplify Hebei's Cultural Tourism Brand Effect," leveraging unique resources like the Great Wall Cultural Tourism Belt and the "Eight Great Arts of the Capital," strengthening Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cultural tourism IP co-construction, and developing cross-regional themed products like cultural tracing and ICH experiences. They also suggested integrating cultural tourism with sectors like study tours, wellness, cultural creativity, and agriculture, using AI and virtual reality to create immersive, interactive projects that make cultural resources perceivable, participatory, and consumable.

"These two proposals—one aimed at bridging the chain of ICH inheritance, product innovation, and market conversion, the other focused on expanding cultural resource consumption scenarios—both point to the deep integration of cultural resource protection, utilization, and cultural tourism development," said the head of the Provincial Committee's Proposal Committee. As proposal implementation deepens, specific suggestions are being translated into concrete measures. The main sponsor unit, the Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, reported that it has conducted 46 training sessions for national and provincial-level ICH inheritors, benefiting over 2,000 people. It has also implemented the "ICH Youthful—Quality Improvement Plan for Provincial Excellent ICH Projects" to help young inheritors enhance their skills, design, and business capabilities. "We have also continuously enriched cultural tourism integration formats, creating over a hundred new cultural tourism scenarios. We've integrated ICH items like Wuqiao Acrobatics, Changshan War Drums, and Handan Drum Music into live performances, adding interactive experiences," said the department representative. "Going forward, we will further improve ICH talent training and financial support mechanisms, implement consumption scenario empowerment and the 'Performance Hebei' enhancement initiative, and develop new formats like night-time economy and rural tourism, turning more Yan-Zhao cultural resources into new hot spots for cultural tourism consumption."