STORY: Fueled by new energy, east China city makes headway in economic growth
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 4, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 15, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:24
LOCATION: CHANGZHOU, China
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Changzhou
2. various of new energy industry
3. SOUNDBITE 1 (Italian): ALFREDO AMADEI, President of Italy's Immergas
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): STEFAAN DEWAELE, CEO of Belgium's IGW
5. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): JORG HEINEMANN, CEO of America's EnerVenue
6. SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): CAO YANG, Vice president of America's Baker Hughes

STORYLINE:

Dubbed as a capital of new energy, Changzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, reported a regional gross domestic product (GDP) of 1.01 trillion yuan (about 140.8 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, up 6.8 percent year on year.

As a manufacturing hub in the Yangtze River Delta, the city has magnetized a thriving cluster of top-notch battery and new energy vehicle (NEV) makers, infusing robust momentum into its economic growth.
   
The output value of the new energy industry in the city reached about 768 billion yuan last year. 
   
Data show that the industrial chain integrity of power batteries in Changzhou has reached 97 percent, ranking first in China, and the output accounts for 20 percent of the country's production capacity.
   
The city also contributes to 10 percent of Chinese-made photovoltaic cells and modules. In 2023, it produced more than 700,000 NEVs, accounting for 70 percent of those made in Jiangsu.

Plenty of foreign-funded companies in new energy have also settled in Changzhou and benefited from the local industrial chain.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Italian): ALFREDO AMADEI, President of Italy's Immergas 
"There is no doubt that the local community in Changzhou, the municipal government and the companies which manage production bases here are very competitive. It convinces us that we have made the right choice (to come here). Changzhou has many experts in new energy industry and a lot of young people come here to study. The economic development here is quite good as well."

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): STEFAAN DEWAELE, CEO of Belgium's IGW
"We have been starting up this plant in 2011. At that time we were starting up here in Changzhou because our customers were heading towards China and we followed them into this market."

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): JORG HEINEMANN, CEO of America's EnerVenue
"Changzhou is the perfect city for manufacturing. (It has) all the ingredients to design a location to be able to scale manufacturing very quickly. I assure you that we want to be a very large part of that, of Changzhou's new energy vision."

SOUNDBITE 4 (Chinese): CAO YANG, Vice president of America's Baker Hughes
"We find that Changzhou is a very important manufacturing and production base in China, and we see that Changzhou has a lot of layouts in photovoltaic, wind power, batteries, and new materials. We also want to find a point where we can cooperate."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Changzhou, China.
(XHTV)