Authorized by NDRC (National Development and Reform Commission), fourteen pilot cities of agglomeration development for strategic emerging industry have been released on October 21st .Wuhan and Yichang were the representatives of Hubei Province. Meanwhile, Yichang has been elected as the only demonstrative city for the development of new material industry in China.

　　With the purpose of quickening the implement of Decision of the State Council on Accelerating the Cultivation and Development of Strategic Emerging Industry and the 12th Five-Year Plan about the Development Plan of National Strategic Emerging Industry, NDRC and Ministry of Finance worked with relevant departments and launched regional agglomeration development pilots of strategic emerging industry. Fourteen cities have stood out after rounds of comparison and selection.

　　It was learned that the Central Government would provide the pilot cities with policy and funding support in the first three years: from this year, the supporting special fund would reach more than 100 million RMB per year; a long-term policy concessional loan would be offered to those programs which were brought into the embodiment by China Development Bank.

　　As the forerunner in the development of material industry, the new material has been one of seven national strategic emerging industries and 100-billion-RMB industry in Yichang. Possessing 84 material products, of which 13 were the top ones in Hubei Province, Yichang enjoyed a distinct advantage in developing basic materials of nonmetallic function material. In the fields of Graphite mining and processing, development of electron magnetic material and production of Quartz crystal material, Yichang ranked the leading level in China and had a great potential, said by the experts. Last year, the output value of new material in Yichang reached 42.5 billion RMB, taking 18 percent of that of Hubei Province. (Reported by Tang Yigui)