An aerial drone photo taken on Jan. 9, 2025 shows a construction site in the start-up zone of Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. (Photo: Xinhua)

China Huaneng Group Co and Sinochem Holdings Co, two centrally administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs), officially relocated their headquarters to the Xiong'an New Area in North China's Hebei Province on Thursday, the Hebei Daily reported.

The two companies held flag-raising ceremonies on Thursday morning, the first working day after the eight-day National Day holiday, marking the completion of the first batch of centrally administered SOEs relocating to Xiong'an with the aim of relieving Beijing of non-capital functions.

More than 1,000 employees of China Huaneng and its affiliated units, and nearly 1,000 employees of Sinochem Holdings have begun regular operations in Xiong'an, the newspaper said.

The relocation of the two large SOEs in Xiong'an will attract upstream and downstream enterprises to Xiong'an, promote the optimization of the area's industrial structure, and accelerate the formation of an industrial ecosystem supporting Xiong'an high-quality development, the report said. Also, the large-scale influx of SOE employees will bring high-quality resources such as talent and vitality to Xiong'an.

The official relocation of the two centrally administered SOEs, as well as other SOEs and Beijing-based colleges that will follow, could greatly facilitate Xiong'an New Area's pursuit of innovation-driven and high-quality development and its goal to build itself into a "city of the future," as these major SOEs hold unique strengths in terms of research and development, industrial supply chains, and technological applications, Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin School of Administration, told the Global Times on Thursday.

The event demonstrated China's unique advantages in mobilizing resources nationwide to promote a national strategy and achieve strategic goals, Cong said.

During an inspection tour in March, Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing said that centrally administered SOEs should fully, accurately, and comprehensively implement the top leadership's strategic decisions for building the Xiongan New Area, thoroughly grasp its functional positioning, mission, and tasks, and more proactively integrate into and support the development and construction of Xiong'an.

Centrally administered SOEs should leverage their expertise in energy, communications, and transportation to actively participate in the infrastructure development of Xiong'an, said Zhang.

It is essential to implement the innovation-driven development strategy, accelerate the establishment of high-level innovation platforms such as sci-tech innovation centers and pilot bases in the Xiong'an New Area, and create important sources of independent and ground-breaking innovation, injecting new momentum into the long-term development of Xiong'an, Zhang said.
In April 2017, China decided to set up the Xiong'an New Area, located about 100 kilometers south of Beijing, as a part of a strategy to promote the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Xiong'an was designed to be a smart and livable city that is innovative, green and free from "urban ills." The new area aims to relieve Beijing of non-essential functions related to its role as the nation's capital.

In September last year, China Satellite Network Group Co was relocated to Xiong'an, becoming the first centrally administered SOE to establish a presence in Xiong'an, dubbed as China's "city of the future," the Xinhua News Agency reported.