Published by ChinaMNC · Kuanchengmanzu

Chengde's Investment Push: What Foreign Founders Need to Know About Green Power, Computing, and Business Setup

Chengde's latest government briefing highlights new opportunities in clean energy, computing, and business services. Here's what foreign founders should know before registering or operating in the city.

Chengde's Investment Push: Practical Takeaways for Foreign Founders

On October 27, the Chengde Municipal Government Information Office held its first themed press conference under the "Attract Investment, Launch Projects, Cluster Industries" series. The Municipal Development and Reform Commission (DRC) presented under the theme "Run the Main Track Well, Fight the Main Battlefield Well, and Strive to Be a 'Pacesetter' in High-Quality Economic and Social Development," and answered questions on topics of public interest. For foreign founders considering company registration or operations in Chengde, the briefing offers a useful snapshot of local priorities, incentives, and procedures—though it is not a substitute for legal or tax advice.

Investment and Project Pipeline

Since the 16th Municipal Party Congress, the DRC has focused on attracting investment, launching projects, and clustering industries. As of the briefing, the DRC reported 21 investment projects in its pipeline: 3 signed and 18 under discussion. This indicates an active but still-developing pipeline, suggesting that early engagement could be advantageous for foreign investors.

Planning and Policy Support

The DRC is actively seeking to include local projects in higher-level plans. At the national level, the Chengde UHV Expansion Substation Project has been included in the national "15th Five-Year" power plan, aimed at relieving bottlenecks in new energy transmission. The city's new energy installed capacity is 24.8 million kilowatts, with an expected 40 million kilowatts by 2030. Chengde has also been recognized as a deputy chair unit of the China Vanadium and Titanium Price Index Compilation Committee, forming a north-south collaboration with Panzhihua. The city hosts over 150 key vanadium and titanium enterprises, with industry output stable above 100 billion yuan.

At the provincial level, Chengde has been included in the draft "15th Five-Year" plan for emerging pillar industries and future industries as part of the "Beijing Surrounding Intelligent Computing Cluster," and in the provincial data industry action plan as part of the "Zhang-Cheng-Lang Data Infrastructure Industry Belt." Vanadium and titanium new materials and basalt fiber new materials have been included in provincial special plans. At the municipal level, nine industry chain maps have been compiled, covering clean energy and energy storage equipment, hydrogen energy, vanadium and titanium new materials, among others. These maps guide chain-based investment, project landing, and industry clustering—useful for foreign founders seeking to align with local priorities.

Industry Cultivation: AI and Clean Energy

The city is positioning artificial intelligence as a breakthrough for upgrading traditional industries, leveraging its energy endowment to deeply integrate advantageous industries with AI, and coordinating green power and green computing. In clean energy, the city is promoting a "five-in-one" plan integrating wind and solar resource development, land use, grid layout, energy storage, and green industry development. It is advancing 32 wind and solar projects with a total capacity of 4.7 million kilowatts to ensure timely grid connection. Six green power direct-connection projects and six virtual power plant projects are underway, enabling local supply and flexible regulation of green power.

In the "computing-power synergy" track, the city follows principles of "determining computing by power, by water, and by use, and avoiding homogeneous competition." It has planned a "two centers, multiple nodes" computing spatial layout and commissioned the China Electronics Engineering Design Institute to draft an implementation plan for new computing industry development. Several key cooperation projects are progressing: a green power-to-hydrogen-to-methanol integrated demonstration project with CSSC has been submitted for approval; a computing project relying on green power direct connection with China Resources has completed site selection; a municipal strategic cooperation with China Great Wall Internet Information Center is expected to be signed soon; and the Yudaokou Saihanba AI Computing Center has started construction, aiming for completion within the year. The city is also in deep talks with Zhongguancun, Tencent, SenseTime, Baidu, Shenghui Technology, and China Communications Construction, among others, and invites interested enterprises to visit.

Project Construction and Funding

Project construction is a key focus. The city aims at national and provincial "six networks" construction, emerging industry layouts, and additional policy funding. It follows a "four reservoirs" approach—planning, preliminary, legal entity, and fixed investment—to move projects from reserve to preliminary, to in-library, to construction. As of the end of September, 3,524 projects had been planned with a total investment of 683.5 billion yuan. This year, 142 projects received support from "four types of funds" totaling 3.34 billion yuan. For key projects, a provincial and municipal key project library has been established with list-based management and ledger-style scheduling to resolve bottlenecks in land, energy consumption, and funding. This year, 160 provincial and municipal key projects have started construction, with a total investment of 119.8 billion yuan.

Business Environment and Services

The city is optimizing its business environment with proactive services. Eight work teams have been set up to provide "tutor-style" guidance, "nanny-style" service, and "closed-loop" implementation. A "three lists" ledger—problems, responsibilities, and rectification—tracks enterprise issues. Project approval timelines have been reduced: business registration can be completed in one day, and approval times from project initiation to construction permit for investment, approval, and filing projects have been significantly compressed. A "scan code to enter enterprise" supervision system is fully implemented, with a law enforcement code display rate of 99%. Financing services have been enhanced: 87 bank-enterprise matchmaking events were held, 2,508 enterprises were recommended, and new credit lines of 10.72 billion yuan were extended, with loans disbursed of 8.43 billion yuan, easing financing pressure on small and medium-sized enterprises.

Future Directions and Q&A Highlights

At the press conference, DRC officials responded to hot topics including local green power consumption, computing industry development, and modern logistics network construction. During the "15th Five-Year" period, the city will focus on four areas: understanding development fundamentals, optimizing grid layout, seizing emerging tracks, and enabling low-carbon transformation, to promote three transformations in clean energy and convert resource advantages into industrial advantages. In the computing industry, it will strengthen top-level coordination, precisely target investment, promote computing-power and computing-network integration, and expand application scenarios to turn computing resources into new quality productive forces. For modern logistics, it will build a "one core, three zones, multiple nodes" spatial pattern, improve multi-modal transport channels, and establish a three-tier node system. It will also improve the "1+9+N" express logistics system, advance a 6 million yuan smart logistics platform, and deepen school-enterprise cooperation to address talent shortages, aiming to create a multi-modal transport and supply chain hub in northeastern Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei.

For foreign founders, these developments signal opportunities in clean energy, computing, and logistics, as well as a streamlined business registration process. However, specific requirements for foreign investment may vary, and it is advisable to consult local authorities or professional advisors.

Call to action: Foreign founders can contact ChinaMNC on WhatsApp / WeChat at +86 153 1898 8535 for help registering and operating a company in China.

This summary is based on information published by the relevant Chinese government website and is general information, not legal or tax advice.