During the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Jingmen City achieved remarkable progress in industrial transformation. The proportion of high-tech manufacturing rose from 5.45% to 16%, the number of enterprises with revenues exceeding 10 billion yuan doubled from 2 to 6, and the output value of emerging industries accounted for 43.9% of the total. By establishing a "4211" modern industrial system and implementing strategies such as "chain-based thinking," "three-pronged advancement," and "digital empowerment," Jingmen revitalized traditional industries, expanded emerging sectors, and laid the groundwork for future industries. Key sectors like green chemicals, new energy materials, and automotive manufacturing were prioritized, with projects including lithium battery bases and low-altitude economy pilot zones driving digital transformation. The city's industrial economy sustained rapid growth, earning it a spot among China's top 100 advanced manufacturing cities and solidifying its foundation as an "industrial powerhouse."
The leap from 5.45% to 16% reflects the growing share of high-tech manufacturing in Jingmen's industrial output. The doubling of billion-yuan enterprises from 2 to 6 and the expansion of provincial-level "specialized, refined, and innovative" firms from 70 to 395 highlight the city's industrial upgrading. Emerging industries now contribute 43.9% of output value, up from 25.9%. These figures illustrate the qualitative and quantitative progress of Jingmen's industrial transformation during the "14th Five-Year Plan."
In 2022, the 12th Party Congress of Hubei Province tasked Jingmen with building a "demonstration zone for industrial transformation and upgrading." By 2025, the city aims to become a key node in the coordinated development of the Wuhan-Xiangyang-Yichang "Golden Triangle" and a major growth pole in the province.
From establishing Central China's largest lithium battery base to pioneering Hubei's first low-altitude economy pilot zone, Jingmen is reshaping its industrial landscape. The "4211" modern industrial system—focusing on four pillar industries (green chemicals, new energy materials, automotive and smart equipment manufacturing, and agricultural processing and health), two advantageous sectors (green building materials and digital economy), and specialized clusters (low-altitude economy and modern services)—guides this transformation.
**Strengthening Industrial Chains for Resilience and Growth** Jingmen's industrial chains have become its bulwark against risks and catalyst for transformation. During the "14th Five-Year Plan," the city shifted from single-point investment attraction to cluster cultivation, reviving idle assets, aggregating emerging industries, and modernizing traditional sectors.
- **Chain Leaders Drive Revitalization**: In 2019, the idle assets of the former Leopaard Auto Jingmen base were repurposed through a 6-billion-yuan investment by
- **Cluster Expansion Powers New Growth**: Around lithium battery leader EVE Energy, Jingmen attracted 40 supporting firms, including SEMCORP (separators), Kedali (structural components), and GEM (recycling), forming a full lifecycle chain from raw materials to recycling. In 2024, EVE Energy's output exceeded 44 billion yuan, boosting the new energy materials sector to 85.2 billion yuan (+28.6% YoY), ranking Jingmen among China's top three lithium battery hubs.
- **Traditional Industries Upgrade**: Jingmen Petrochemical pivoted from fuel oil (70% of output) to specialty products like animal vaccine oils and polar lubricants, with a 60,000-ton/year specialty oil project set to raise capacity to 1.37 million tons by 2026. Meanwhile, GEM transformed from an 8-million-yuan startup in 2003 to a 30-billion-yuan recycling leader, processing 200 tons of used batteries daily and dominating 50% of the global ultra-fine cobalt powder market.
**Digitalization Fuels Smart Transformation** Digital technologies have accelerated Jingmen's industrial shift, from smart workshops to cloud-based maintenance:
- **Efficiency Gains**: Guran Technology's 20-million-yuan DCS upgrade stabilized temperature control (±0.1°C), lifting product yield to 99.2%. Chuda Intelligent's 5G remote platform cut overseas debugging from 15 days to 1, saving 3 million yuan in 2024.
- **Platform Integration**: The 2025 launch of Jingmen's industrial internet platform connected 11 provincial 5G factories and 93 smart plants, optimizing supply chains for firms like GEM and
- **Policy Support**: Jingmen's "ultra-long bonds + tech-upgrade subsidies" covered 30% of digitalization costs for SMEs, while training programs developed 2,000 digital specialists. In 2024, 2.86 billion yuan in loans facilitated corporate transitions.
**Future-Oriented Strategies** Jingmen's "three-pronged" approach—renewing traditionals, scaling emerging sectors, and seeding future industries—ensures sustained growth:
- **Traditional Industries Go Premium**: Xinyangfeng's electronic-grade phosphates command 300x the price of fertilizers, while Zhongxiang's phosphogypsum utilization rate jumped from 15% to 82%, turning waste into建材.
- **Emerging Sectors Expand**: Jingshan's DAH Solar generated 3.45 billion yuan in two years, helping lift smart equipment output past 20 billion yuan. Jingmen's electronics sector hit 50.77 billion yuan in 2024, with emerging industries contributing 43.9% of output.
- **Future Industries Take Flight**: The Zhanghe New Area low-altitude economy hub, home to AVIC's AS700 airships (60% cost reduction) and Chenlong Aircraft's logistics routes, aims for 2 billion yuan revenue by 2030.
Ren Haiqing, Deputy Director of Jingmen's Economy and IT Bureau, stated, "Jingmen was built on industry, and industry will propel its future. Our '15th Five-Year Plan' will advance the '4211' system, targeting national leadership in advanced manufacturing, new energy storage, and low-altitude economy."
With 1,100+ scaled enterprises (up from 890), 18 months of 11%+ industrial growth, and two national SME clusters, Jingmen's industrial transformation sets a benchmark for high-quality development.