In a nutshell, the economy of Pingdingshan is “black and white economy”. The black refers to coal, and the white refers to salt. At the juncture of accelerated economic transformation of a resource-based city, Pingdingshan has both a vertical route and a horizontal route. The former is the deep processing of “black and white resources”, extension of industrial chains and increase of added value; and the latter is development of new industries.

If a city has ample resources and consciously operates the resources with wisdom, its prospect will be very promising.

"Non-coal” evolution of a “coal city”

Pingdingshan has inherent staunchness – in view of its history and industrial endowments.

Pingdingshan becomes flourishing and valuable due to coal and also suffers pains from coal – the ups and downs of the coal industry. In the past more than half a century, coal directly affected the fate of this city.

Pingdingshan is a typical immigration city. Here any group of people may come from a half of China.

People and city created success for each other. The totem of the people living in this city nicknamed “City of Eagle” is “eagle”: brave, resolute and steadfast, for fly and win.

Just owing to the endowments of such staunchness and wisdom, the barren mountains were turned into a “coal city”, and then into “an emerging comprehensive industrial city” – an industrial city dominated by energy industry and comprehensively developing coal, electric power, iron & steel, electromechanical, chemical, textile and building material industries.

Deng Yongjian, the Secretary of Pingdingshan Municipal Party Committee said: "Although Pingdingshan has more than ten billion tons of coal reserves and the coal mines are also in the prime time, it thinks of adversity in prosperity, avoids the tragedy that the city goes downhill after the coal resource is exhaust as seen in other cities, and makes constant effort in economic transformation.”

Indeed, although it is reported that the coal in Pingdingshan may be “dug 100 more years”, it will be exhaust some day. Pingdingshan became flourishing owing to coal, but shall never die from coal.

"In 2005, the revenue from non-coal industries in Pingdingshan accounted for 81% of the GDP of the city and about 85% of local fiscal revenue,” Yan Shubin, the Director of Pingdingshan Development and Reform Commission introduced to the reporter.

When the reporter had interviews in Pingdingshan from July 21 to 22, whenever the reporter referred to the topic of “coal city”, the officials of Pingdingshan city would present the above data as Yan Shubin did. Seemingly, they wanted to politely remind the reporter – it is out of time to call Pingdingshan “a coal city” at present.

A data may serve as a proof – in 2005, among the 16.3 billion yuan of revenue of Pingdingshan Coal Mining Group, 6.9 billion yuan was from non-coal products. The goal of the group is that 2/3 of its revenue is from non-coal products by 2010.

Nevertheless, in a rather long time to come, coal will still play a decisive role in the city.

Since 1960s, Pingdingshan has adjusted its industrial structure many times, but coal mining industry has never changed its position as a pillar industry.

"Being spearhead by Pingdingshan Coal Mining Group, promoting the development of modern mines, realizing 60 million tons of raw coal output by 2010, and further consolidating the position as China’s important and Henan’s largest coal production and comprehensive processing base.” The 11th five-year plan of Pingdingshan city describes its coal industry in this way.

Nevertheless, Pingdingshan thinks highly of the evolution process from a "coal city” to a “non-coal city” and particularly cherishes the preliminary result of its economic transformation.

Therefore, the transformation and development of a resource-based city is like a race. The competitor is nobody but itself. For a resource-based city, no matter whether the resource is exhaust or not, economic transformation is necessary, and the later, the more difficult and more costly.

Passionate ensemble of “black” and “white”

In a nutshell, the economy of Pingdingshan is “black and white economy”. The black refers to coal, and the white refers to salt.

At the juncture of accelerated economic transformation, the future of Pingdingshan may have many possibilities, but the glory and dream of the city will have a perpetual link with the thing underground – more than 10 billion tons of coal. It deserves the name of a “Bunker of the Central China”; with 230 billion tons of salt reserves, Pingdingshan is the second largest well salt producing area in China.

One way for the economic transformation of a resource-based city is vertical transformation, extension of industrial chains and increase of resource transformation value – coal and salt chemical industry is one of the directions.

The importance of developing coal chemical industry is beyond question. In view of national industrial development strategy, coal chemical industry is one of the 12 important industries determined by the State in a period to come; Henan Provincial Party Committee and Government are dedicated to developing coal chemical industry into a “pillar industry that supports the economy of Henan”, and require building a coal chemical industry base in the south of Henan by relying on Pingdingshan Coal Mining Group and other enterprises.

In the plan of Pingdingshan city, the sales revenue of its coal chemical industry should rise from RMB one billion last year to 10 billion yuan in 2010.