In the launch zone of the Xiong'an New Area, the headquarters of China Huaneng, China SatNet, and Sinochem are operating steadily, while the headquarters of China Minerals is completing its interior decoration.

Tides rise along the lake shore, and a new breeze sweeps through Xiong'an. Today's Xiong'an is no longer just a landscape of towering cranes, as central state-owned enterprises establish operations, industrial clusters take shape, and commercial towers sprout up one after another, drawing in waves of market entities. The area's economic vitality is strengthening, and its popularity is surging, marking a transformation of the once barren land into a thriving new city. From blueprint to reality, the Xiong'an New Area is advancing steadily toward its goal of building a robust economic zone.

By attracting projects on both the official list and market-oriented relief efforts, the area is making every effort to create a hub for headquarters economy and the development of OPC (One Person Company). Xiong'an is making a rapid shift from reliance on external support to self-sustaining growth, accumulating significant momentum for endogenous development as it continues to expand.

Where to Begin

A single leading enterprise is now catalyzing the formation of entire industrial clusters, thanks to the ongoing efforts to take in and initiate relief projects. Recently, the CGN North China Center project also landed in the launch zone. As a central enterprise headquartered in Shenzhen, CGN is leveraging market-based relief to establish a “central brain” for innovation in the new energy sector in Xiong'an, and it is by no means an isolated case.

Before this, the headquarters of energy giants China Huaneng, China Datang, and China Huadian had already settled in Xiong'an, while the sci-tech innovation centers or industrial bases of China National Nuclear Corporation, State Grid, State Power Investment Corporation, China Energy, and China Coal Energy have also been strategically positioned here.

According to Song Lifeng, Director of the Commerce, Investment Promotion, and Free Trade Zone Management Committee of Xiong'an, more than 100 second- and third-tier subsidiaries or branch offices from over 10 energy central enterprises have established operations in Xiong'an, attracting over a hundred supporting firms and initially forming a pattern where central enterprise headquarters lead, R&D bases drive innovation, and supporting enterprises grow in coordination. The market-based relief mechanism for energy firms has proven its strength, making the energy industry one of the most important industrial clusters in the area.

Relief is never a simple physical relocation. By firmly grasping the functional positioning, mission, and principles of the Xiong'an New Area, the region is advancing the relief and absorption of Beijing's non-capital functions in a more orderly and effective manner. This is leading to the continuous implementation of landmark relief projects and triggering the transformation from a single leading enterprise to a full-fledged industrial cluster.

On the morning of August 19th, the first Xiong'an-made satellite, “Xiong'an-1”, was successfully launched into orbit, having rolled off the production line last October at the satellite intelligent manufacturing pilot base of Xiong'an Hongqing Technology.

Ma Yangbiao, Deputy Director of the Science Park Management Committee, explained that the successful launch marks the aerospace information industry's shift from R&D and manufacturing to on-orbit application. Xiong'an has now initially formed a complete industrial chain for aerospace information and satellite internet, spanning R&D, manufacturing, testing, and use.

In Xiong'an, the concept of “aerospace information” began gaining traction with the relocation of a leading state-owned enterprise. In April 2021, China Satellite Network Group Co., Ltd. was established in Xiong'an and officially began operations in October 2024, becoming the first central enterprise headquarters to be located there, focused on the design, construction, and operation of satellite internet.

Many staff members recall the period leading up to China SatNet's arrival. The Construction and Transportation Management Bureau provided full assistance with procedures like construction permits, quality and safety supervision, and joint completion acceptance. The startup area headquarters assigned dedicated service personnel for one-on-one support throughout the entire process from registration, land supply, and approval to construction and completion. For large enterprise headquarters, Xiong'an offers customized “service packages” with tailored solutions to ensure rapid project implementation and sound development.

Xiong'an hosts a “bi-weekly coordination meeting” to facilitate face-to-face communication between relief organizations and various departments, promptly addressing on-site issues. The area also innovatively conducts “relief services to your doorstep” campaigns, collecting needs and offering personalized solutions through tailored policies for different categories and plans for individual enterprises.

Moving from key breakthroughs to concentrated support, the relief efforts on the official list are advancing in an orderly fashion. The first three central enterprise headquarters are operating steadily, the China Minerals headquarters is undergoing interior decoration, second-batch relief projects are commencing one after another, and third-batch projects are being actively negotiated. Concurrently, market-based relief is expanding in both quality and quantity, with central enterprises having established over 400 various types of institutions in Xiong'an. China SatNet and China Spacetime Information Group have attracted 69 upstream and downstream companies to settle in the area, bringing the total number of digital technology subsidiaries of central enterprises to 54. The relief process is evolving from a purely physical relocation to deep integration, enhancing its demonstration and leading role.

The number of Beijing government service matters that can be handled directly at Xiong'an service windows has expanded from 234 to 625. The “Xiong'an One Card” is now valid in both places for social security, healthcare, and transportation scenarios. Housing provident fund contribution standards are now aligned with Beijing's. Xiong'an is quickly becoming a hub for higher education, tech talent, central enterprise innovation business units, and high-end medical services.

Wang Yanwei, Director of the Xiong'an New Area Reform and Development Bureau and the Industry, Information, and Data Bureau, stated that the next step is to firmly uphold the primary functional positioning as a concentrated place for relieving Beijing's non-capital functions, fully utilize Xiong'an's cohesive role within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and use the relief absorption process to drive industrial development and lead technological innovation.

Fostering a Dedicated Hub

By integrating capital operation with brand building, a multi-level and multi-field headquarters economy is taking shape. In improving investment promotion efficiency, Xiong'an is not merely pursuing sheer project investment totals or the simple number of settled companies, but rather focusing on the tangible relevance of industries and their actual development outcomes.

On September 1st, Mech-Mind (Xiong'an) Robotics Co., Ltd. was officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the first science and technology innovation enterprise in the Xiong'an New Area to be nurtured and coached entirely within the district and to land on an overseas capital market. Founded by a team of returnees from Tsinghua University, Mech-Mind is a global unicorn in the embodied AI and industrial vision sector. It relocated its global headquarters to Xiong'an two years ago, and its products and services now cover nearly 50 countries and regions worldwide.

Since the company's arrival, the district's Reform and Development Bureau, along with the Industry and Information Technology Data Bureau, the Science Park Management Committee, and Xiong'an Fund, has provided proactive services, establishing a full-cycle service mechanism around key aspects such as share reform standardization, coaching for cultivation, policy alignment, and factor supply, effectively resolving difficulties in the company's development and listing process.

Zhang Le, General Manager of Xiong'an Fund, who recently returned from the listing ceremony, noted that Mech-Mind's successful IPO marks a pivotal step for Xiong'an in cultivating scientific innovation leaders, smoothing the path for corporate listings, and building a multi-layered capital market ecosystem.

By actively attracting unicorns and gazelle companies, Xiong'an is driving brand building with capital operations, rolling out a series of practical measures to help businesses grow and go public to foster globally influential brands. Zhang Le cited the recent study trip to Hefei and the story of CXMT as an inspiring example, noting how local state capital there provided sustained core support through a long period of losses. In addition to Mech-Mind, Xiong'an also stepped in early to assist Geek+, a leader in the AI and robotics field, and UISEE, a well-known unicorn in the L4 autonomous driving sector, in listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The headquarters of these three AI companies have all now established their presence in Xiong'an.

On August 26th, a visit to the Pinduoduo Information Technology (Xiong'an) office revealed neatly arranged workstations and the constant hum of activity. Yu Xuesong, Deputy General Manager of Pinduoduo Group's Public Affairs, explained that with the help of the district's commerce and investment promotion departments, the team was assembled and the business operations system was running smoothly in just three months, with the employee count surpassing 4,000. Pinduoduo is aiming to build this entity into its largest, highest-standard, and most capable digital service delivery base in the northern region.

With comprehensive, regional, and functional headquarters from central state-owned enterprises, multinational corporations, and private enterprises converging in Xiong'an, a magnetic effect is being unleashed, attracting upstream and downstream partners and gradually forming a multi-level and multi-field headquarters economy landscape.

Attracting Talents

With integrated hardware and software environments, the district is attracting digital nomads and is being developed into a hub for OPC growth. A laptop, a simple workspace, and AI tools are all one needs to run a company—this new entrepreneurial model of the AI era is growing rapidly in Xiong'an.

On the morning of August 29th, natural language algorithm engineer Xun Shuoyang was developing an AI agent at the Innovator OPC Community in the Rongdong area, explaining how it can reduce tasks that previously required three mouse clicks to just one. Having worked in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Hangzhou, the 27-year-old was initially drawn to Xiong'an by a high-paying job offer but found the policy environment extremely friendly for digital nomads. He registered his own one-person company, renting a workspace for just 5,000 yuan a year and receiving six months of free computing vouchers.

Xia Jiansong, the founder of the Innovator OPC Community, points out the convenience: the office is within the residential community, surrounded by gardens, with accommodation available upstairs. The community provides complete business support services like registration assistance, investment and financing matchmaking, and market expansion, along with computing, token, and corpus vouchers to significantly reduce entrepreneurial costs.

On August 28th, at the OPC Ecological Community in the Xiong'an Artificial Intelligence Industrial Park, Yang Hongwei, founder of Hebei Xiong'an Yangshi Technology, was focused on debugging his system. Having moved in this past July, he received proactive support from the park in the form of entrepreneurial coaching and policy interpretation, which is helping with his development of a one-stop online management and collaboration system for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Cui Hang, Head of the Science Park's Industrial Operation Center, explains that the OPC ecological community is designed to address the high computing costs and fragmented resources that often challenge AI entrepreneurs. It connects office spaces, computing tools, financial support, and industry connections into a full service chain, creating a plug-and-play environment for founders. The park has also established an “agent supermarket” offering AI tools, vertical domain models, and token services. Furthermore, it will regularly host the OPC Xiongcai Cup special competition, with awards of up to 2 million yuan for winning teams, plus office space and talent support.

From individual pursuits to a collective wave, as the district's industrial policy dividends continue to unfold, creators, developers, investors, and professional service institutions from around the world are converging in Xiong'an. More and more AI OPC entrepreneurs are heading to this city of the future, interconnecting, collaborating, and innovating, all contributing to Xiong'an's rapid construction as a powerful economic zone.