COUNTY GROWS INTO INDUSTRIAL 'TREASURE TROVE'

When asked why she had chosen to establish a ski equipment and apparel company in Fujian, a southern province of China, Liu Yushan explained half-jokingly: "People from Harbin, the capital of snowy Heilongjiang province, like to buy houses in Sanya, Hainan province, and enjoy vacations in the tropical climate. Similarly, people from southern regions who haven't had much exposure to snow have a strong longing for it."

Liu's company, Vector, consistently ranks in the top two in the ski-and-surf equipment category of online shopping platform Tmall and is the leading domestic brand in the field.

After gaining her master's degree in economics and management at the University of the Arts London, Liu returned home to start a business in 2015 in Minhou county, Fuzhou, Fujian province.

"Minhou may be small and not close to major urban areas," she said on her choice of location. "However, its core competitive advantage lies in its supply chain and industrial chain. Here, we have gathered numerous companies that were once engaged in original equipment manufacturing for well-known outdoor brands. All of my products rely heavily on the foundation provided by this industrial chain."

Liu said recruiting talent to work in Minhou was easy.

"During recruitment we saw an increasing number of outstanding graduates," she said.

"The policies Minhou has promoted, such as encouraging individuals to settle here, have greatly helped our entire recruitment process. They include subsidies for talent-development funds.

"Personally, I was honored with the '100 Talents of Fujian' title and associated benefits in 2020," she added.

In the 1990s, President Xi Jinping, then secretary of the Communist Party of China Fuzhou Municipal Committee, emphasized the need for Minhou to create new advantages and strive for greater achievements. "Minhou county has many obvious real advantages and significant potential advantages," he said.

GDP growth

Minhou has made great strides in development in recent years. Its GDP surpassed 100 billion yuan ($13.81 billion) in 2022, making it one of only 52 counties in the country to achieve the milestone.

The county's economic strength has improved significantly over the past 12 years, moving from 100th in the national ranking of counties' economic performance in 2011 to 38th in 2022.

The change in fortunes is thanks mainly to the cultivation of six industrial clusters: automobiles; electromechanical engineering; building materials; food products; home decoration; apparel and textiles, each with a production value exceeding 10 billion yuan.

In 1992, Xi emphasized during a discussion with village cadres in Qingkou, Minhou, the need to establish an image of people who provide excellent services and who are also able to cooperate.

"If we have the right talents and efficiency, who wouldn't love Minhou and come here? Then this place will become a treasure trove, accelerating its development," he said.

At China Southeast Auto City Park — a modern industrial park that integrates automobile development research, production, and sales — the local government has taken the lead in providing services to make enterprises' operations easier.

Minhou Qingkou Automotive Industrial Park Government Service Hall houses 15 departments, 34 service windows and provides 560 services.

"The hall is located in the center of the industrial park, and most companies in the park are within a 10-minute drive, allowing for quick completion of tasks within half an hour without affecting normal work," said Wu Pengzheng, deputy director of the management committee of the industrial park.

"If there are relevant tasks that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the departments, requests can be submitted here (at the hall) for unified processing by staff at the county level," he said, adding that automated and intelligent services are also provided.

"The hall is equipped with self-service machines for certain transaction services, allowing clients to complete tasks without queuing at the windows," Wu said.

Power play

Wang Zaibang, a senior researcher at the Taihe Institute, a Beijing-based independent think tank, said high-quality development involves the application of high-tech innovations for industries to advance.

"It also entails utilizing technological innovations to optimize and improve industrial capabilities," Wang said, adding that this is exemplified by Huawei in the telecommunications sector, and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd in the field of new energy.

Over just 12 years, CATL has transformed from an unknown small company in Ningde, Fujian, into a global leading manufacturer of power batteries. This remarkable growth story illustrates how technological innovation can drive high-quality development and enable businesses to achieve outstanding growth.

According to SNE Research data, as of April this year, CATL had achieved a global market share of 35.9 percent. Roughly speaking, this means that for every three electric vehicles sold in the global market, at least one vehicle is equipped with CATL's batteries.

CATL was the first company to apply Cell-To-Pack technology in the passenger vehicle sector, and its third-generation CTP, known as the Qilin battery, gives an electric vehicle a range of up to 1,000 kilometers.

Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, said in his keynote speech to the 2023 World Battery Conference on June 9 that technological innovation is a powerful driving force for high-quality development, and innovation is at the core of his company's competitive advantage.

"CATL continuously makes breakthroughs in battery safety, energy density, fast-charging, battery cycle life, and high-temperature resistance, constantly raising the standards and seeking driving force from innovation," he said.

"CATL not only aims to give everyone access to batteries but also strives for everyone to have access to high-quality batteries," he said.

In recent years, the company has achieved a number of innovations. In the field of chemistry, it has introduced sodium-ion batteries, whose performance is already comparable to that of lithium-iron phosphate batteries.

It has also established five major research and development centers around the world, with its R&D team numbering over 14,000 employees.

Among them, the 21C Innovation Lab in Ningde has become a leading global research hub for cutting-edge energy storage and conversion technologies.

The rapid development of CATL has also stimulated growth in surrounding areas.

Zheng Chenbin, deputy director of the Industry and Information Technology Bureau of Ningde, said in the next phase of its development, Ningde plans to form an industrial cluster based on two leading enterprises — CATL and Amperex Technology, a producer of lithium-ion batteries — along with their respective supply chains.

Currently, Ningde is a nationally recognized industrial cluster, and the goal is to elevate it to a world-class industrial hub.

"The region has demonstrated impressive efficiency, as projects ranging from land reclamation approvals to production commencement are typically completed within a year. These achievements exemplify Ningde's dedication to rapid innovation and growth," he said.

Feet first

SEMS, a footwear manufacturer in Putian, once famous as China's sneaker manufacturing capital, is taking a new approach to making more comfortable shoes.

"Each person's foot shape is not the same, and rarely are both feet the same size," said Cheng Libo, executive vice-president of the company.

"I wear a size 39 on one foot and a size 39.5 on the other. When buying shoes from a regular store, I typically have to purchase a size 39.5 and use a half insole or padding for the other foot. Many individuals also have issues such as arch pronation. Almost everyone requires customized shoes based on their own measurements to ensure a better and more comfortable wearing experience," she said.

In Putian, footwear manufacturing is an important pillar industry that provides many jobs. It is the largest industry cluster with an output value exceeding 100 billion yuan. There are over 4,200 shoe and apparel enterprises in Putian, including supporting industries, which employ approximately 500,000 people.

These traditional shoe enterprises are now seeking to pursue greater intelligent and quality manufacturing, and SEMS is one of them. It has established the first large-scale industrialized factory in the domestic footwear industry that produces customized and personalized products. Its peak daily output is 2,400 pairs of sports shoes.

In collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, SEMS has also developed a world-leading foot assessment device, which can detect a customer's foot characteristics and "foot health" within 15 seconds.

Driven by big data analysis, it provides personalized shoe recommendations and value-added foot-care services.

Consumers can also use the company's mini program to quickly customize and create shoe designs, including colors, patterns, and signatures.

"The synergistic design and manufacturing platform enables our company to create a pair of customized shoes from scratch within two hours," Cheng said.

In terms of the business climate in Putian, entrepreneurs are quick to praise the local government's comprehensive and optimized business services.

"One of the significant challenges we encountered in our project was related to the approval of licenses and various types of regulatory clearances," said Zhang Xian, deputy general manager of Fujian Eversun Jinjiang, a leading textile producer.

"However, we were able to resolve these problems one by one with the help of local government organizations that provided dedicated 'nanny style' support and services."

"The local governments' proactive approach has facilitated the early implementation and production of projects, resulting in timely results and maximum efficiency," he said.