From January to March 2025, FAW Group sold 762,000 vehicles, up 2.5% year-on-year, with sales of proprietary new energy vehicles skyrocketing by 152%. Since March, FAW Jiefang has secured multiple major orders in the Asia-Pacific market. CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. rolled out the largest-capacity urban rail vehicle. Seventy-one major projects across the city broke ground with the arrival of spring. From January to February, Changchun's fixed-asset investment grew by 24.5%, ranking among the top sub-provincial cities. A growing sense of responsibility to improve the business environment and serve businesses is taking root across the city... In the first quarter, Changchun's spirit of striving for progress was palpable—from R&D to manufacturing, business negotiations to production lines, investment attraction to project launch, and enterprise support to market expansion.

 

As the capital city and a major central hub in Northeast China, Changchun is the "cornerstone", the "main engine", and the "locomotive" of Jilin Province's development. Since the beginning of the year, the city has been picking up speed and staying focused on a strong start to secure growth throughout the year.

 

Changchun released the Changchun Territorial Space Master Plan (2021-2035) (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), approved by the State Council, to advance the construction of a modern metropolitan area.

 

The groundbreaking ceremony for Changchun's 2025 spring projects, including the Yongchun Biomedical City project, took place. The protection and revitalization of the Xinmin Street Historical and Cultural Block were in full swing. The "Zidong Changkong" low-altitude economy application large model attracted widespread attention.

 

A series of plans, including the Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Construction of a Modern Industrial System and Developing New Quality Productive Forces in Changchun, the Implementation Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development in Changchun Through High-Level Opening Up, and the Action Plan for Promoting High-Quality Development of the Private Economy in Changchun, were formulated and explained to the public.

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A year's plan starts with spring, and revitalization depends on action. Zhang Enhui, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Jilin Provincial Committee and Secretary of the CPC Changchun Municipal Committee, emphasized that Changchun must seize opportunities, ride on the momentum, dare to innovate, and work diligently to make greater contributions to Jilin's journey toward Chinese-style modernization.

 

Innovation Never Stops

 

Changchun is known as the "cradle of China's automobile industry". Over 70 years ago, the establishment of China's First Automobile Works marked a new chapter in the city's development, laid a solid industrial foundation, and made automobiles its most iconic feature.

 

This year's government work report called for the vigorous development of intelligent connected new energy vehicles. As a major automotive hub, Changchun is leveraging its strengths to secure a leading position in this new era.

 

Innovation is Changchun's defining characteristic and competitive edge.

 

Committed to technological self-reliance and strength, FAW Group strives to break through key technological bottlenecks. The Hongqi steer-by-wire development team has broken foreign technological monopolies, with its self-developed product obtaining China's first ASIL-D certification for autonomous steer-by-wire systems. In the field of automotive AI chips, FAW has developed "Hongqi No. 1", an autonomous and controllable automotive-grade chip with advanced processes.

 

During the Spring Festival of the Year of the Snake, DeepSeek emerged as a viral phenomenon. Recently, FAW Hongqi's Jiuzhong Platform Lingxi Cockpit and Bestune D-life 6.0 Cockpit Platform have integrated deeply with DeepSeek, enabling mass production applications for voice-based chat and text-to-image LLMs. With DeepSeek integrated, the cockpit's semantic understanding and knowledge Q&A capabilities have been significantly improved.

 

AIGC technology empowers product R&D innovation. The Modeling Design Institute of FAW R&D Institute developed the "Yunmei Zhihui" platform, which has already generated over 240,000 automotive design mages, enhancing diversity and creativity in design proposals and providing decision-making support for the modeling design of Hongqi vehicles.

 

From January to March 2025, FAW Group sold 762,000 vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 2.5%, and produced 776,000 vehicles, up 4.8%. Among these, sales of vehicles from proprietary brands reached 223,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 7.4%, and new energy vehicles saw a significant surge of 152%, reaching 59,000 units, while sales of vehicles from joint-venture brands reached 539,000 units, maintaining its leading position in the joint-venture segment.

 

In March, FAW Jiefang signed important cooperation agreements with distributors from countries including Australia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. In Australia, it is rapidly establishing a new growth pole in both sales and profits. In Indonesia, FAW Jiefang has become the top-ranked Chinese-funded brand in the road vehicle segment. In Vietnam, it held a ceremony with Zhansheng Company to mark the rollout of the 2,000th Jiefang Tiger VH truck, and secured an additional order for 500 all-wheel-drive dump trucks of the same model.

 

Qiu Xiandong, Chairman and Secretary of the Party Committee of FAW Group, stated that 2025 marks a critical year for FAW to undergo deep restructuring and achieve upward breakthroughs, as well as strategic transformation and core capability enhancement. FAW must remain confident and determined, rise to the challenge, and strive to seize new opportunities. It will accelerate its progress toward becoming a world-class mobility technology enterprise. The group aims to sell 3.45 million vehicles and achieve revenue of RMB 595.6 billion in 2025.

 

At CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles Co., Ltd. (CRRC Changchun), workers are busy on the factory floor. One out of every three high-speed trains in China is produced here.

 

The world's fastest high-speed train is here! On the eve of New Year's Day 2025, the CR450 EMU prototype was unveiled in Beijing, with the CR450BF EMU produced by CRRC Changchun. This train can reach a speed of up to 400 km/h, with enhanced speed, safety, energy efficiency, comfort, and intelligence, injecting new vitality into the global advancement of high-speed rail technology.

 

"With a maximum capacity of 2,428 passengers per train, it is now the largest-capacity urban rail train in China." The first six-car urban rail express train—the Chongqing Line 15—recently debuted and has been hailed as the "King of Passenger Capacity".

 

"This train is specially designed for Chongqing's mountainous terrain and boasts a climbing capability of 50‰, allowing it to easily navigate complex landscapes," said a researcher from CRRC Changchun. The "King of Passenger Capacity" is also a green mobility solution. Powered by lithium-titanate batteries, it features low energy consumption, zero-emission operation, rapid charging, and a long service life.

 

Since 2015, CRRC Changchun has invested nearly RMB 15 billion in R&D. The company has mastered more than 60 core technologies, such as rail transit passenger equipment train networks. It has established nine product platforms for multiple units, subways, maglev trains, and so on, with 30 main product types at internationally leading levels, and developed over 150 new products, achieving comprehensive R&D capabilities for all types of rail transit vehicles.

 

This year, Changchun will strengthen the leading role of scientific and technological innovation and continue to foster new drivers and advantages for development. The city will support the operation of three innovative provincial laboratories—Jiguang, Sanjiang, and Changbai Mountain. It will also implement "selecting the best candidates to undertake key research projects" and "targeted commissioning" models for breakthroughs in key core technologies. Total R&D investment across society is projected to grow by more than 10%. The city will establish three proof-of-concept centers jointly with the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, the Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, and Changchun University of Science and Technology, and improve the service functions of 30 pilot bases and 18 science and technology industrial parks.

 

Meanwhile, the city plans to achieve the local transformation of over 4,000 scientific and technological achievements and increase the total value of technology contracts by 20%. By leveraging the guiding role of Changxing Fund and Future Technology Innovation Group, Changchun will establish a sci-tech innovation investment matrix totaling RMB 30 billion. A gradient support mechanism for tech enterprises will be refined, with FAW, CRRC Changchun, and Chang Guang Satellite as leading examples. The city plans to nurture "eaglet, gazelle, and unicorn" companies, 3,500 national high-tech enterprises, and 5,000 tech-based SMEs.

 

Grasping the "Major Projects"

 

At the end of February, the groundbreaking ceremony for Changchun's 2025 spring projects, including the Yongchun Biomedical City, was in full swing. A total of 71 major projects across the city commenced or resumed construction— one month earlier than the previous year. The project-centered principle has ignited a wave of development in all districts of Changchun.

 

At the construction site of the Changchun Jingyue High-Tech Zone Cultural and Creative Industrial Park by the Yitong River, workers are racing against time to complete the project by the end of August.

 

Located in the core triangle of the Southern New Town, Changchun International Movie Metropolis, and Changchun Northeast Asia International Expo Center, the project has a total investment of RMB 3.34 billion. The park comprises the Innovation Center, the Entrepreneurship Center, the Commercial Center, the Comprehensive Service Building, the Exhibition Center, and the R&D Center, with 40 buildings in total. Civil engineering work for all six zones has been completed, and interior finishing is slated for early April. If all goes smoothly, the facility will be put into use by year-end.

 

Once operational, the park will integrate cultural inheritance, green ecological paradise, and future digital light and shadow urban vitality belt, weaving together urban culture, commercial and industrial clusters, creative industries, and Changchun's history. By combining industry, commerce, culture, and innovation, it will revitalize the waterfront of the Yitong River and unlock its ecological and cultural value. The project is expected to boost regional economic growth, create jobs, spur surrounding development, and generate greater value for the city.

 

In 2025, Changchun plans to implement 1,400 projects with investments exceeding RMB 50 million each, including over 1,000 projects above RMB 100 million. Since February, the city has commenced or resumed work on 830 projects of RMB 50 million or more, 509 (61%) of which are industrial projects. Driven by the early launch and rapid progress of major projects, the city's fixed-asset investment grew by 24.5% in January and February, ranking among the top sub-provincial cities in China.

 

While project construction is gaining full speed, advancing the development of the Changchun modern metropolitan area has also risen as a top priority. The Plan proposes developing Changchun into a comprehensive transportation hub for Northeast Asia by relying on Longjia International Airport, Xinglong Comprehensive Bonded Zone, and Changchun Railway Comprehensive Freight Yard to establish an aviation and inland port. The city will also improve internal and external transport corridors to create a safe, convenient, green, and low-carbon urban integrated transportation system.

 

Changchun has clearly defined the need to coordinate major transport projects, particularly those enhancing commuting efficiency in the modern metropolitan area, and accelerate the development of a transportation network that effectively connects urban districts, counties, and surrounding cities. The goal is to promote the coordinated development of the Changchun-Jilin and Changchun-Siping metropolitan areas, advance the Harbin-Changchun city cluster, and open up two-way channels for the flow of resources between Changchun and surrounding regions, ultimately creating a well-structured, functional, interconnected, and shared transport infrastructure system.

 

According to Mayor Wang Zilian, Changchun remains firmly committed to high-quality development. It is implementing actions that foster new quality productive forces led by scientific and technological innovation, building a modern industrial system, and striving to achieve greater outcomes in advancing Chinese-style modernization.

 

Changchun has a clear approach and concrete goals for building a modern industrial system:

 

—Accelerating transformation and upgrading of traditional industries: Efforts will be made to promote the automobile industry's transition to new energy and intelligent connected vehicles, with full support for the electrification of Hongqi vehicles, production capacity enhancement of Audi PPE, and the introduction of new energy hybrid models under FAW-Volkswagen, thereby driving the industry's iterative upgrading. The city will advance the high-end, intelligent, and green transformation of the equipment manufacturing sector and expedite the industrialization of reserve technologies like CR450 EMU and maglev trains. Additionally, it will facilitate the deep processing of agricultural products and foster competitive and distinctive industrial clusters.

 

—Expanding and strengthening emerging industries: First, the city will expand and strengthen the optoelectronic information industry by broadening its applications in the fields of robotics, intelligent driving, and smartphones. Second, efforts will be made to bolster the pharmaceutical and healthcare industry, with a focus on developing gene vaccines and building the Northern Medicine Production Base. Third, the green energy industry will be scaled up by advancing the construction of green power consumption industrial parks and fostering the new energy equipment manufacturing sector. The fourth is to vigorously develop the modern cultural tourism industry by enhancing a full-chain ice and snow economy and promoting the integration of film, animation, and cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence.

 

—Proactively deploying future industries in advance: The city will utilize cutting-edge and disruptive technologies to foster new industries, business models, and fresh drivers of growth, while actively expanding into new sectors such as hydrogen energy, advanced energy storage, high-end medical equipment, and innovative pharmaceuticals.

 

Being a Dedicated "Service Provider"

 

There is no ceiling for improving the business environment. In Changchun, the government is dedicated to serving as a "service provider" for enterprises and passionately addressing their needs to facilitate business development.

 

In 2024, Changchun advanced its reform of government services. As a result, 95% of administrative matters were handled with a single visit to one department, 227 service items were available for cross-provincial processing, and 40% of policy-related services were granted without the need for an application. The approval time for social investment projects was reduced from 180 days to just 58 days, earning Changchun recognition from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development as the region with the most notable reform results.

 

This year marks the final year of the 14th Five-Year Plan, a critical year for deepening reforms, and the decisive year of Changchun's three-year campaign to achieve breakthroughs in comprehensive revitalization. Zhang Enhui urged the city to prioritize action and implementation, embrace a new outlook, shoulder new responsibilities, and deliver new achievements in order to drive comprehensive revitalization forward and achieve greater breakthroughs.