Turning the right wheels for further economic growth

Contrary to expectations, there was an uncanny silence in the normally bustling streets of Ningbo, a city in Zhejiang province, during my trip in early February. Barring the stray dogs looking for crumbs, there was an all-pervasive silence in the air, apart from thin wafts of smoke emanating from incense burned for welcoming the god of fortune in the Year of the Pig. Perhaps it had a lot to do with the Spring Festival holidays.

It certainly was not the atmosphere I was expecting ahead of my meeting with Ren Lianggang, general manager of P&T Medical Equipment Co Ltd, a leading manufacturer and exporter of medical products like automatic and ultrasonic sterilizers.

"Business has been good last year as we have been getting steady orders from overseas clients," said Ren.