Investment in China's Xiong'an New Area, to the south of Beijing and in northern Hebei Province, increased by 13.5 percent year over year in the first half of 2025, driving investment growth in Hebei by 1.6 percentage points year over year.
As the central hub for relocating non-capital functions from Beijing, the Xiong'an New Area has entered a phase of parallel development that prioritizes both large-scale construction and functional transitions.
At present, a high-rise fortune tower project is underway in the financial island area of the Xiong'an New Area, with over 2,000 builders diligently working at the construction site.
The total construction area of the financial island project exceeds 780,000 square meters, covering functions such as offices, apartments, commerce, and transportation.
With the basic sites for the second batch of relocation projects selected, central state-owned enterprises have established over 300 branches in Xiong'an.
Meanwhile, the Xiong'an Aerospace Information Research Institute has leveraged China's BeiDou navigation system and 5G multi-mode convergence technology to solve the challenge of underground positioning, and the solution is now fully implemented in the Rongdong area of Xiong'an.
"We are currently promoting the Xiong'an New Area as a model to all parts of the country. We are already connecting with underground positioning in areas like Qingdao Port, and with several scenarios in Chongqing, Hainan, and Beijing," said Lu Zhaoming, deputy director of Xiongan Aerospace Information Research Institute.
Investment in Xiong'an New Area increases by 13.5 pct in H1
China's two major power grid operators -- the State Grid Corporation of China (State Grid) and China Southern Power Grid (CSG) -- reported a surge in investment in the first quarter of 2026, underscoring efforts to strengthen infrastructure construction and support high-quality socioeconomic development in China.
The State Grid said it completed fixed-asset investment worth 129 billion yuan (about 18.77 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months of this year, up 37 percent the corresponding period of the previous year. The spending has driven more than 250 billion yuan (36 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across the wider industrial chain.
Key projects such as the Panxi ultra-high-voltage (UHV) alternating current (AC) line and the Anhui-Hubei back-to-back direct current (DC) project have seen ground broken for their construction, while several west-to-east power transmission projects have been upgraded.
Investment in connecting renewable energy generation to the grid was reported to have exceeded 10 billion yuan (1.45 billion U.S. dollars) from January to March, a year-on-year rise of more than 50 percent.
The CSG also reported robust growth in investment in the three-month period, with fixed-asset investment reaching 38.45 billion yuan (5.58 billion U.S. dollars), up about 50 percent from a year earlier.
Among its achievements, the company completed and commissioned 80 key projects, including the 220 kV cross-sea power grid interconnection project, which was officially put into operation on March 20. The project ended years of grid isolation on the Weizhou Island in south China by linking it to the main power system of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The construction of 17 other major energy projects, including one linking the power grid of the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China with that of Guangdong Province in south China, is advancing rapidly. These projects are expected to bolster regional industries, the maritime economy, digital collaboration and the transition to green energy.
"By accelerating major project construction, investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030) is expected to approach 1 trillion yuan (145 billion U.S. dollars), driving a further 2 trillion yuan (290 billion U.S. dollars) of investment across upstream and downstream industries," said Dong Yanle, deputy general manager of the Engineering Construction Department under the China Southern Power Grid.
China ramps up power grid investment in January-March to boost growth
