China Unicom sets up industrial internet unit in Xiongan New Area

China United Network Communications Group Co, the country's second-largest mobile carrier by subscribers, has established a new unit in the Xiongan New Area, as part of its broader push to help build it into a high-tech, smart area.

China Unicom Xiongan Industrial Internet Co Ltd, as the new company is called, is designed to co-ordinate innovative business teams and related resources such as cloud computing, big data, internet of things, and industrial internet for the Xiongan New Area.

Hao Liqian, chairman of the new unit, said China Unicom aims to build globally pioneering network infrastructure and application platforms in Xiongan and will leverage cutting-edge technologies to help build it into a smart, pleasant city with a balance between people's work and living, he said.

China Unicom Xiongan Industrial Internet now boasts about 600 employees who specialize in innovative businesses. The number is expected to jump to around 1,000 by 2020.

Last April, China announced the establishment of the Xiongan New Area－which has "lasting importance for the millennium to come"－spanning three counties in Hebei province, southwest of downtown Beijing. The move is to transfer non-capital functions from Beijing and boost integration of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cluster.

Construction of Xiongan－another new area of "national significance" is following the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and Shanghai Pudong New Area in China.

According to Hao, who is also the general manager of China Unicom's Hebei provincial branch, the State-owned company has already made a string of progresses in the province.

It has built 15,000 base stations to support the narrow-band internet of things technology in Hebei, which can connect billions of low-power devices to offer services such as smart meters and smart parking solutions.