Jiangyin,locatedinsouthernJiangsuProvince,isastandoutmanufacturingcity.Thecity’smanufacturingindustrytookoffinthe1980sandisnowdrivenbyinnovation.byQinBinJiangyin,locatedinsouthernJiangsuProvince,isastandoutmanufacturingcity.RidingthetideofChina’sreformandopeningup,Jiangyinhasamassedwide-rangingreal-economyindustriesandexcellententrepreneurs,whichremainthecity’smostprecioustreasures.About21,000of58,000enterprisesinthecityaremanufacturers.IntherankingsofChina’scounty-leveleconomiesandtheirbasiccompetitiveness,Jiangyintoppedthelistfor15consecutiveyears.Morethan100enterprisesinthecityhavebecomeleadersintheirrespectivemarketsegmentsinChina,withmorethan20typesofproductsgrabbingthelargestmarketsharenationwide.Duetosuchfactors,JiangyinhaslongrankedfirstonthelistofChina’sTop100IndustrialCounties(orCounty-levelCities).
RootedintheRealEconomy
WhenthereformandopeningupbroughtChina’smanufacturingindustryintoagoldenerafordevelopmentinthe1980s,Jiangyinwelcomeditsownmanufacturingboom.Severaltop500ChinesecompaniestookofffromJiangyinsuchasropemakerFastenGroup,brominerefrigeratormanufacturerShuangliangGroupandtextilemakerJiangsuSunshineGroup.
In1983,renownedChinesesociologistFeiXiaotongcoinedtheterm“Sunanmodel”inreferencetothebusinessmodeinthesouthernareaofJiangsuProvinceintheearlyyearsofthereformandopeningupinhisbookRediscoveryofSmallTowns.Theareafocusedondevelopingthecollectiveeconomydirectlyledbytownshipgovernments,whichreliedonkeycitieswithmarketadjustment.ThismodelbenefitedJiangyinwithfast-growingmanufacturingcapabilitiesandincreasingeconomicstrength.
AfterDengXiaoping,chiefarchitectofChina’sreformandopeningup,madehisfamousremarksduringthe1992inspectiontourofsouthernChina,thecountry’smarketeconomysystemandmoderncorporatesystemwereestablishedandimproved.Atthattime,theJiangyingovernmentpromotedshareholdingreformoflocalenterprises.Itintroducedtheideasofassetreorganizationandcapitaloperationaswellasincentiveandsupportingmeasurestoencouragecompaniestoenterstockmarkets.InFebruary1997,JiangyinXingchengSpecialSteelWorkswaslistedontheShenzhenStockExchange,becomingthefirstcompanyinJiangyintodoso.Morecompaniessoonfollowedsuit.Bytheendof1999,eightcompaniesinJiangyinhadbeenlistedinstockexchangemarkets.Thecompanies,includingJiangsuSunshineGroup,HuaxiHoldingandFastenGroup,raisedatotalof2.16billionyuan,formingtheunique“Jiangyinsector”inChina’scapitalmarket.
Inrecentyears,financialcapitalhasfloodedintorealestateandthestockmarket,andtherealeconomyrepresentedbymanufacturingindustriesisfacinggreatchallenges.ButmanufacturingstillplaysakeysupportiveroleinJiangyin’sdevelopment.Datashowsthatin1978,thesecondaryindustryaccountedfor55percentofJiangyin’seconomy,andin2017,theshareofthesecondaryindustryremainedatasimilarlevelat54.4percent.
ChenJinhu,secretaryofthePartycommitteeofJiangyin,declared:“Jiangyin’sdevelopmentisrootedintherealeconomy.”
Inthe1970s,aworkerarrangedfinishedproductsinaporcelainfactoryinJiangyin.courtesyofthepublicitydepartmentofthePartycommitteeofJiangyinGrowingModernIndustries
Today,innovationhasbecomethenewdriverforJiangyin’smanufacturingindustry.Alongsidemovingtomiddleandhighendofindustry,localenterprisesarealsopromotingthedevelopmentofstrategicemergingindustries.
LuJieofShuangliangGrouprecalledthecompanyintroducingastrategyof“transformingdevelopmentconcept”in2006.“Wehavebeenupgradingourbusinesseversincethen.”Thegroup,initiallyspecializinginbrominerefrigeratorproduction,hasembracedcomprehensiveenergy-savingandeco-friendlybusinessincludingsystemintegration,contractenergymanagementandservicetrusteeship.WiththeapplicationoftechnologiessuchastheInternetofThings,bigdataandcloudplatforms,ithasintroducedinteractiveonlineandofflineserviceandproductlifecyclemanagement.Ratherthansimplymakingproducts,thecompanyisprovidingmanufacturingservicesforclients.
Inrecentyears,Jiangyinhasmadegreateffortstobuildanationalhigh-techindustrialpark—JiangyinHigh-techIndustrialDevelopmentZone,aswellastwoprovincialeconomicdevelopmentzones:JiangyinLingangEconomicDevelopmentZoneandJiangyin-JingjiangIndustrialPark.Theindustrialzonesareconsideredstrongdriversforindustrialgrowthinthecity.
Basedonitsexistingindustrialinfrastructure,Jiangyinisfosteringfourstrategicemergingindustriesincludingnewenergy,electronics,biomedicine,andgrapheneproductionandapplication.Thecityhasalsoreinforcedfourdominantindustries,namely,newmaterials,equipmentmanufacturing,high-qualitytextileandclothing,andshipbuildingandmarineequipment.Moreover,Jiangyinisupgradingfourtraditionalindustriesthatfuelitseconomicgrowth:metallurgy,metalproducts,lightindustrialandbuildingmaterials,andelectricity.
Manycompaniesaretransformingfromtraditionalmanufacturerstosystemintegrators,investmentoperatorsandserviceproviders.Theyhavecreatednewspacefordevelopmentandearnedhigherprofitsbysellingservicesratherthansolelybysellingproducts,extendingindustrialchainsandincreasingadditionalvalue.
AspinningworkshopatthetextilefactoryofHuaxiVillageinJiangyin.byQinBin
SeveralEthiopiancollegestudentsweretrainedbyJiangsuSunshineGroupinJiangyininJuly2018.byQinBinServingEnterprises
ThesustainablegrowthofmanufacturinginJiangyincanbeattributedtoacombinationofgoodtiming,advantageousgeographicalfeaturesandabundanthumanresources.ThecityislocateddownstreamoftheYangtzeRiver,whichisknownasthe“throat”oftheriver.Ithasbeenatransporthubsinceancienttimes.Thankstoitsuniquegeographicallocation,Jiangyinhasdevelopedastrongcapacityforresourceexchangeandaccumulation.Thespiritto“stayresilientandsparenoeffortstofightforthebest”iswidelyacknowledgedamonglocals,whichinspiresnewbusinessesinthecity.
FornewlyarrivedentrepreneursandtalentinJiangyin,thehighefficiencyandpragmaticserviceofthelocalgovernmentmakethemfeelathome.
In2007,ChenYuxinreturnedtoChinafromtheUnitedStatestostartabusiness.HetraveledtoseveralcitiesandultimatelydecidedtosettleinJiangyin.There,hefoundedProteLight,abiomedicinecompany,in2009.“Atthattime,Jiangyinwastransformingitstraditionalindustriesandofferingbigincentivestothebiomedicineindustry,”Chenrecalled.“Localgovernmentofficialsareboldandpragmatic.Theyfulfilltheirpromisesfast.”
“Theefficiencyandhonestyofthegovernmentarekeytoattractingandkeepingtalent,”declaredTaoZhengxian,deputydirectorofthemanagingcommitteeoftheJiangyinHigh-techIndustrialDevelopmentZone.Thecity’sgovernmentofficialsvaluetheirpromisesandshowgreatefficiency.Theyvisitenterprisesfrequentlytolearntheirconcerns,identifyproblemsanddevisesolutions.
Infact,sincethedawnofChina’sreformandopeningup,theJiangyingovernmenthasbeenprovidingrain-or-shine,unrestrictedandcomprehensiveservicesforenterprises.
Inthe1980s,governmentsatalllevelsinJiangyinworkedwithenterprisestoattractprojects,investmentandresourcesandexpandmarketshares.Suchmeasureshelpedlocaltownshipbusinessessurvive.Inthe1990s,theJiangyingovernmentshifteditsfunction,separatedgovernmentmanagementfromenterpriseoperationandreduceditsinterventionineconomicaffairsasmuchaspossible.Atthesametime,thegovernmentadvocatedtheconceptthat“entrepreneursinvest,andthegovernmentserves;businessmenmakefortunes,andthecitydevelops.”ThisphilosophymadeJiangyinahotbedforforeigninvestment.Attheturnofthe21stcentury,theJiangyingovernmentestablishedanadministrativeservicecentertoprovideone-stopservicesforenterprises,anothermovetoincreaseefficiency.
AworkerofFastenGroupmakesopticalfiberperformwithModifiedChemicalVaporDepositionfacilities.byChenYe
AgroupofworkersfromSJsemi,asemiconductorfoundryinJiangyin,checkfacilitiesinawetprocessingzone.byGuQiang
InalaboratoryofUsunbio,abiomedicalcompanybasedinJiangyin,researchersdiscussexperimentaldata.byQinBin
AttheresearchworkshopofDeliLaserSolutionsinJiangyin,aworkerperformsaglassdrillingexperiment.byPangZhijian