A new car and a server roll off the production line every minute, six smartphones and 100 phone chips are produced every second, and a battery cell is manufactured every three seconds. These are just some of the achievements of the Zhengzhou Airport Economy Zone in Henan Province during the country's 14th Five-Year Plan period, showcasing the region's vibrant industrial vitality.
Building on this momentum, the zone is now setting its sights on a new ambition for the 15th Five-Year Plan period: establishing itself as central China's premier "computing power granary." At a recent provincial press conference held in Zhengzhou, the director of the zone's Investment Promotion Bureau, He Liang, emphasized that the area serves as Henan's key gateway to the outside world and a global aviation hub, with its robust manufacturing sector forming the solid foundation for developing artificial intelligence.
After years of strategic development, the zone has become home to a host of leading enterprises, including a globally significant smartphone production base, a complete vehicle manufacturing facility for BYD, and the AI server manufacturing base for xFusion. He Liang outlined a four-pronged strategy for the next five-year period: strengthening the advanced manufacturing base to solidify the hardware foundation for AI, deepening the integration of intelligence into production processes, reinforcing the supply of computing power, and cultivating a fertile ground for AI innovation and new business models.
Providing a clearer picture of this technological foundation, Qi Fu'an, director of the Zone's Science, Technology and Industry Bureau, shared key statistics. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the region developed a 500-billion-yuan information industry cluster led by Foxconn and xFusion, alongside a comprehensive new energy vehicle base built around BYD's most complete supply chain. For the next phase, the focus will be on leveraging the innovative power of these industry leaders to create a world-class enterprise support hub.
Central to this vision is the Airport Smart Computing Center, a massive computing facility with a capacity of tens of thousands of P (petaflops). The strategy aims to build an integrated ecosystem combining hardware manufacturing with computing services, accelerate the construction of xFusion's AI smart factory, and boost the development of the computing power and related equipment industries. He Liang explained that the plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period is to work with chain-leading companies like Foxconn, BYD, and xFusion to expand and strengthen the industrial chain, focusing on areas such as complete server systems, power supplies for computing, liquid cooling technology, and high-speed connections. This will create a large-scale cluster for computing equipment manufacturing, shoring up the physical production base for the AI industry.
On the supply side, the zone is committed to building a robust "computing power granary" for central China. This involves the planned expansion of the Airport Smart Computing Center to establish a green, low-carbon computing hub in the region. The goal is to create a public computing service system where computing power is as easily accessible as water or electricity, supported by efficient scheduling mechanisms and subsidy programs, ensuring a stable and reliable supply for all technology-driven enterprises in the area.
Guo Peng, Deputy Secretary of the Party Working Committee and Director of the Management Committee of the zone, stated at the press conference that the North Port Science and Technology Industrial Park will leverage Foxconn and xFusion to create a globally important manufacturing base for intelligent terminals and AI servers, contributing to the zone's ambition of becoming a "City of Artificial Intelligence."