Abird’s-eyeviewofKunshanNew&High-techIndustrialDevelopmentZoneElaboratelocaloperaofKunqu,whitewashedwalls,endlessalleysandagatheringplaceforhigh-risesandnewhigh-techenterprisesfeatureacounty-levelcityineastChina’sJiangsuProvince.ForBoydNg’Andu,aneconomistfromZambia,it’shardtoimaginehowthiscityofKunshanbecameNo.1inoveralleconomiccompetitivenessamongthe2,000county-levelcitiesthroughoutChina.Thecitywasconsecutivelyimpoverishedfarbackinthe1980s.
InApril,ZhangYuelin,DeputySecretaryoftheKunshanMunicipalCommitteeoftheCommunistPartyofChina,introducedhiscitytoNg’Anduandhis44classmates,26ofthemfromAfricancountries.ThesestudentsparticipatedintheInternationalMastersofBusinessAdministration(IMBA)programsponsoredbytheChineseGovernmentinBeijingNormalUniversity.Mostofthemworkedinvariousbusiness-relatedgovernmentdepartmentsintheirrespectivecountriesbeforestudyinginChina.
ThegoaloftheprogramwastosharewithstudentsfromdevelopingcountriesChina’sexperienceineconomicdevelopment.
“TheChineseeconomyexhibitedexceptionalperformanceinthepastfourdecades.Thiscanbeattributedtoitsopening-uppolicy,”HuBiliang,DeanofEmergingMarketsInstitutewithBeijingNormalUniversity,toldChinAfrica.
“KunshanistheepitomeofChina’seconomictakeoff.ForpeoplewhowanttounderstandChina’seconomicsuccessstory,Kunshanisanoptimumplacetovisit,”Huadded.
Opentomarket
Chancefavorsonlythepreparedmind.LyinginthesoutheasternregionofJiangsuProvince,Kunshancoversanareaof931squarekmandhasapopulationof2.55million.ThecitybordersShanghaitoitseastandSuzhoutoitswest.
Historically,KunshanwasafarmingareaontheplaininthesouthernpartofJiangsu.Itsagriculturalandaquaticproducegeneratedamajorportionofthecity’srevenue.
In1978,theChineseGovernmentannouncedtheadoptionofthereformandopening-uppolicytoreadjustthecountry’seconomicstructureandpromoteeconomicgrowth.Takingadvantageofthisopportunity,theKunshanGovernmentsetupindustrialzonesandstrategicallyintroducedanopenpolicytoattractoverseasinvestment.
Itsuniquegeographicalconditionsandinvestmentincentivesattractedalargenumberofoverseasinvestors,especiallyenterprisesfromTaiwan.
YangTeng-huiwasoneoftheearliestTaiwanesebusinessmenwhorelocatedhisbusinesstoKunshan.Heneverforgetsthehardshipsofhisinitialventureinthecity.
Duringhisfirstvisitin1989,heworerainbootsbecausethethenunderdevelopedcitywasmerelyalargeaccumulationofpaddyfields,withonlyafewstreets.Mostrestaurantswereclosedat5:30p.m.
“Itwastotallyabackwardagriculturalcounty,”Yangrecalled.
AlthoughtheindustrialbaseofKunshanwaspoor,theTaiwaneseentrepreneurwasimpressedbytheenthusiasmofthelocalgovernmentandlocalpeopleforeconomicgrowth.
“Thelocalgovernmentisstillhighlyorganizedandefficient.Irememberduringtheearlyyears,allphonenumbersofgovernmentofficialswereopenforinvestorstomakesureproblemsweresolvedtimeously,”saidYangwhostartedhisbusinessinthelocalindustrialzone.Henowownsoversixenterprisesbasedinthecity.
“Overtheyears,althoughgovernmentofficialsofKunshanhavechanged,theirconceptofcreating‘Cordial,SecureandProfitableEnvironmentforInvestors’hasneverchanged,”saidYang.
In2017,thecity’sGDPstoodat350billionyuan($46.8billion),andthetradevolumereached$82.77billion.Upto2016,thenumberofoverseasenterprisesinKunshanreached7,700,anddomesticenterprisesreached70,100,accordingtoZhang.Locallynicknamed“MiniTaipei,”4,855Taiwaneseenterprisessettledinthecitybytheendof2017withatotalinvestmentvolumeof$58.2billion.
Thesizableoverseascapitalinducement,alongwiththelargeamountofimmigrantresidents,hasalsodriventhecity’sregionaldemandandgreatlycontributedtothelocaldevelopmentinretail,foodandbeverageindustryaswellasotherservices.
Opentoinnovation
Kunshanhasitseyessetonfosteringa“created-in-Kunshan”brand.
Asthelocalgovernmentcametorealizetheimportanceofself-reliantinnovation,Kunshandecidedtotransformfromexternaldriveintointernalforceforeconomicgrowthatthebeginningofthe21stcentury.Withthisinmind,thegovernmentmanagedtomaketheKunshanNew&High-TechIndustrialDevelopmentZone(KSND)upgradedtoanationalhigh-techzonein2010.Itgaveoutvariousincentivestoincreasetheinfluxofhigh-techenterprisesandemergingindustriestothezone.
LocatedinthedowntownofKunshan,thehigh-techzoneisalsoapioneernationwideinproducingdigitalequipmentandbiopharmaceuticalproducts,withspecificemphasisonrobotandsmallinterferingRibonucleicAcid(siRNA)manufacturing.
InMarch2017,RiboBiotech,aleadingsiRNAdrugdevelopmentcompanyinKSND,celebratedthereceiptof270millionyuan($42.5million)inaseriesBfundingfromventurecapital.
Thecompanystartedtheresearchanddevelopment(R&D)ofRNAinterference(RNAi)technologyin2008inanationwideattempttoefficientlyinhibitthetargetofgeneexpression.
“Atthattime,people’sunderstandingofRNAiwasstillrathervague.DevelopingtheRNAiindustryatacounty-levelcitysoundedrathercontrivedbackthen,”saidJinHongjian,DeputyGeneralManagerofKunshanIndustrialResearchInstitute.
Theboldattemptgotsupportandencouragementfromthelocalgovernment,whichthenformedthestrongestR&Dteaminthatfieldtosupportlocalprojectdevelopment.In2014,thefirstapplicationforclinicaltrialofsiRNAdrug(QPI-1007),ananti-NAION(Non-ArteriticAnteriorIschemicOpticNeuropathy)siRNAdrugwhichhelpscureopticneuropathydisease,wasproducedbythecompany.ItwasapprovedbythethenChina’sStateFoodandDrugAdministrationin2015,butunfortunatelyachievednobreakthroughintheclinicalresearchofRNAidrugs.
Inlessthan10years,Kunshanhasprovided90percentofRNAidrugsnationwideandestablishedthelargestRNAidrugsproductionlineinAsia,whichhasreachedaninternationalR&Dstandard.
ThedependenceofRNAitechnologyisavividportrayalofKunshan’sopennesstoinnovation.In2016,KSNDcompletedatotalGDPof80billionyuan($12.6billion)andatotalindustrialoutputvalueof172.4billionyuan($27.15billion).Thebiopharmaceuticalindustrywasincludedinapilotprojectforthenationalinnovationindustrycluster.
Gettinginspirations
DemoscoKamara,agovernmentofficialfromSierraLeoneintheIMBAgroup,wasimpressedbywhatKunshanhasachieved.“Thelocalgovernmenthastherightstrategyasitisopentotheworld.Itsleadershipisstrongandwell-organized,”hesaid.“Africancountriesshouldalsoseizeeverypossibleopportunitytorealizegrowth.”
AccordingtoHu,thatopportunityhasarrived.
“AfricancountriesshouldbeopentotheChina-proposedBeltandRoadInitiativefortheirowndevelopment,”hesaid.“OpportunitiesexistforAfricatosecureChinesefinancingforinfrastructuredevelopment,whichisthebasisforitseconomictakeoff.”
Sofar,thedevelopmentoftheBeltandRoadInitiativehasbroughttangiblebenefitstosomeAfricancountries.Forexample,theMombasa-NairobiStandardGaugeRailwayinKenyahascreated176,000directandindirectjobs.AccordingtostatisticsfromtheKenyanGovernment,afterthecompletionofthisrailway,cargotransportationcostsinEastAfricadroppedby79percent,andKenya’seconomyhasgrownby1.5percent.
ThisarticlewaswrittenincollaborationwiththeInternationalMBAprogramofBeijingNormalUniversity
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