Michigan upbeat on Xiongan

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder talks to China Daily on Wednesday at his office. HONG XIAO / CHINA DAILY

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder is optimistic about the Xiongan New Area development hub in Hebei province, which is under construction, and the opportunities it will create for developing cooperation with the state.

"It's exciting about what's going on in terms of the New Area," Snyder said of the 100 sq km area that sits at the center of the triangular area formed by Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei's capital of Shijiazhuang.

Earlier this year, China announced it will establish the Xiongan New Area in Hebei as part of advancing the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Snyder said that on his last visit to China in August, he had "a wonderful discussion with the provincial governor of Hebei province."

"We talked about the new area and I volunteered to see if Michigan could be helpful," he said. "It's a great opportunity to show more cooperation between the two countries, particular the province and our state, and I think there are many things to come."

Snyder said it was exciting to see the cooperation between the state and China in building smart cities, which is in progress in the New Area.

"So hope we can help the smart city work," he said.

Located some 100 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing, the Xiongan New Area is home to Baiyangdian, one of the largest freshwater wetlands in northern China.

Called the Great Lakes State since its shores touch four of the Great Lakes, Michigan also has more than 11,000 inland lakes.

Snyder believes that the state, which has great expertise in preserving lake eco-environments and building harmony between lakes and people's lives, could provide support to the New Area.

"We've done a lot of wonderful work on our lakes to help preserve them in areas like Detroit, in terms of making it a wonderful place for people to walk, enjoy and fish," he said.

"We can figure out not only how to be sustainable with the lake itself, but also how to make it a center point for a combination of the smart city and beautiful city, so it's not only a place to work but a place to live, and it could be a model for the rest of China," he said.

Snyder said Michigan could help in transportation.

"Michigan has been a world leader in mobility and automobiles in terms of how to set up a city for transportation and infrastructure," he said.

Currently, Michigan hosts more than 300 Chinese companies with more than $4 billion invested from China.

"Much of that has happened over the last five to six years and we see more upcoming," he said.

"I think it's a great relationship; we build strong personal bonds, Chinese companies and Chinese investors look to Michigan as a good place to do business because we want to be friends," he added.