Wenzhou aims high ( 2003-10-12 09:51) (Xinhua) Wenzhou, a port city in east
China's Zhejiang province, has launched a new campaign to re- build itself into
an economic giant.
The campaign was marked by a three-day conference of approximately 1,500
people of Wenzhou origin in this east China coastal city that opened on
Saturday, who are now residing in 60 countries and regions.
Li Qiang, secretary of Wenzhou City Committee of the Communist Party of China
(CPC), said they hoped that the meeting participants, most of whom were
successful businesspeople from around the world, could contribute to Wenzhou's
new goal with their wealth or wisdom.
The people of Wenzhou are renowned in China as acute, canny business people
who can turn their hand to any trade profitably. They often start with small
businesses such as hauling pedi-cabs and polishing shoes, and gradually turn to
tailoring or cloth trading, the odd-jobs that people from elsewhere in the
country usually look down upon and will not do.
Some 2 million people of Wenzhou origin live outside their home region,
including 400,000 now residing in over 100 countries and regions. Businesspeople
of Wenzhou origin have built new numerous trading villages or towns, streets
named after their hometown across the world and made themselves known worldwide
as the " people of Wenzhou".
Li heralded the 2 million people as a great, valuable asset of information,
capital and talent, and a powerhouse for transforming the city of Wenzhou into
an economic giant.
With the help of overseas Wenzhou people, more than 100 products made in
Wenzhou are directly sold in Europe and the United States, according to Li.
The conference will close on Monday.
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