Focus Interview | Exaggerating Data, Falsifying Output: "Billion-Dollar Industrial Park" Degrades into "Slogan Project"

Why did the AI · Leiyang Children’s Car Industry Park fall from a billion-yuan goal to an empty shell project?

Is doing good work less important than shouting slogans loudly? Is insufficient performance made up with numbers? In recent years, phenomena like “watered-down project data” have appeared from time to time. These false behaviors have become accomplices of formalism, fostering unhealthy trends, affecting macro decisions, and damaging government credibility. Recently, relevant departments reported that Leiyang, Hunan, disregarded local realities in planning and building the Children’s Car Industry Park, exaggerated data, and falsely reported output value, with prominent issues of falsehood. The “Focus Interview” reporters investigated this incident.

Leiyang, a county-level city in Hengyang, Hunan, historically thrived on coal. As traditional industries declined, cultivating new drivers of growth and achieving industrial breakthroughs became key to solving local development problems.

In 2021, Leiyang officially proposed creating a “billion-yuan-level Children’s Car Industry Park,” designating the children’s car industry as the leading industry, claiming that once the project is completed, annual output value will surpass 100 billion yuan.

Data shows that Leiyang’s GDP in 2020 was 39.46 billion yuan, making the billion-yuan industry target equivalent to 25.34% of the total economy. Can this children’s car industry park truly become a “powerful lever” to drive urban transformation? The reporters conducted an in-depth investigation.

The current desolate scene sharply contrasts with official propaganda of industry clustering and bustling activity. Leiyang has repeatedly claimed in official media that over 60 companies have gathered in the Children’s Car Industry Park, building what is touted as the “Children’s Car Town” in the province. However, on visiting the entire park, only two factory buildings are completed, with only one infant product company and four supporting micro-enterprises actually settled in.

On-site investigation revealed that the so-called “Children’s Car Industry Park” does not produce children’s cars. More serious than exaggerating the number of enterprises is the water-inflated output value: in 2024, the actual output value of the park was 21.65 million yuan, but reported as 347 million yuan.

Reviewing documents shows that as early as 2021, local officials claimed that two newly signed projects in the Leiyang Children’s Car Industry Park would generate an annual output value of 3 billion yuan and create over 5,000 jobs after production began. But the reality is that park enterprises have insufficient start-up, wages are owed, and transformation projects have become “hollow shells.”

Investigation found that the planning of the Leiyang Children’s Car Industry Park had major hidden dangers from the start—without thorough research or systematic demonstration, and with no foundation for industry clustering or supply chain, the goal of building a “billion-yuan-level children’s car industry park” was blindly proposed, severely violating market rules and development realities.

Zhou Fei, Member of the Leiyang Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Leiyang High-tech Zone: We later learned that at that time, the entire national infant stroller market was about 10 billion yuan. Well-known places like Pingxiang in Hebei have over 2,000 companies, and others like Zhongshan in Guangdong, Hanchuan in Hubei, Pinghu in Zhejiang, and Kunshan in Jiangsu have developed over decades. So, the situation was quite unclear and the decision to propose such a project was rather hasty.

Even more absurd than exaggerated targets is that the planning data is completely detached from reality. The local authorities claimed the park’s planned land was 2,000 acres with a total investment of 5.9 billion yuan, but on-site verification found only 290 acres of usable land.

Investigation revealed that local officials also promoted slogans like “drawing a good blueprint, fighting a battle on the map,” and specifically formulated the “Leiyang Children’s Car Industry Park Implementation Plan,” which clearly states a total investment of 6 billion yuan over five years, with annual investment and recruitment targets: 2021—5 billion yuan and 7 companies; 2022—10 billion yuan and 20 companies; 2023—10 billion yuan and 25 companies; 2024—15 billion yuan and 37 companies; 2025—20 billion yuan and 45 companies.

However, this seemingly rigorous plan was merely a “paper exercise” to cope with inspections, serving as a tool to demonstrate “work achievements.” The “Leiyang Children’s Car Industry Park Implementation Plan” mentions establishing dedicated teams and project promotion leadership groups.

Li Shaohua, Director of the Office of the High-tech Zone Management Committee and former Deputy Director of the Economic Cooperation Bureau of Leiyang Economic Development Zone: I am not very clear about the promotion and construction team; honestly, I don’t know much about it.

Li Guoping, Director of the Development and Construction Bureau of the Leiyang High-tech Zone Management Committee and former Director of the Industry Development Bureau of Leiyang Economic Development Zone: I was mainly a liaison. Our industry bureau didn’t participate much in the children’s car sector. Although we were in the special team, I wasn’t fully involved; it was mainly led by the team leaders.

The promotion officials are unclear about the team’s responsibilities, and team members also say they did not participate substantively. Over the years, none of the tasks in the plan have been completed, and the so-called “vigorous promotion” was just empty talk.

He Kun, Deputy Director of the Development and Construction Bureau of the Leiyang High-tech Zone Management Committee and former Deputy Director of the Natural Resources Bureau of Leiyang Economic Development Zone: Honestly, we never received formal documents about this work team. I think it was just for publicity; in the end, no formal document was formed, and we didn’t operate according to a formal team system.

Investigation found that false data about the children’s car industry has been repeatedly included in Leiyang government work reports for years, mentioning: in 2021, efforts to build four billion-yuan-level industry chains including paper products, new materials, children’s cars, and metallurgical chemicals; in 2022, 42 related companies signed contracts or registered in the park; in 2023, over 40 companies signed in; and by October 2024, a report to higher authorities claimed that “the Children’s Car Industry Park has grown from nothing to something, with 63 companies gathering.” The louder the slogans, the fewer the actions—“billion-yuan Children’s Car Industry Park” has become a “slogan project.”

Investigators learned that to make the data look good and impress officials, Leiyang manipulated figures, exaggerated reports, and falsified output values for years. Even when local officials were aware of the falsehoods, they still provided fake materials to reporters, deliberately omitting the key phrase “billion-yuan” in the “Four Major Billion-Yuan Industry Clusters”; during interviews, some officials even instructed staff to delete related materials about the children’s car park.

Further investigation revealed that the formation of the “billion-yuan Children’s Car Industry Park” data bubble was due to disconnection from reality, data falsification, and superficial work. Local departments failed in multiple links—from land supply to promotion services—leading to a project that was expected to transform the city becoming a barren land and superficial project, exposing a misalignment of some officials’ performance views.

Recently, the central authorities’ Office for Rectifying Formalism and Bureaucratism, together with the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, issued a notice on this typical case.

Zhou Fei, Member of the Leiyang Municipal Party Committee and Secretary of the Party Working Committee of Leiyang High-tech Zone: During the development of the children’s car industry, there were issues with lax and insincere work styles. This is unacceptable and damages the credibility of the Party and government. The municipal party committee and government will adhere to seeking truth from facts, demanding pragmatic work, and taking real actions. Industries are not built by slogans but by actual efforts. We have learned a profound lesson.

Engaging in image projects and performance projects will inevitably leave hidden risks. The stark contrast between the “trillion-yuan track” and “desolate land and empty sites” exposes deep-rooted problems of formalism and data-driven achievements. One key reason for the emergence of such “watered-down project data” issues is a serious deviation and misalignment of performance views. Currently, Leiyang has launched a special campaign to rectify officials’ work styles, resolutely addressing issues of insincerity and pursuit of quick results in major projects and industries; at the same time, accountability mechanisms have been initiated for issues like “exaggerating data.”