The2018SummitofChinaTop500PrivateEnterpriseswasheldinShenyang,capitalofLiaoningProvince,fromAugust29to31.byGuoShashaInlateAugust,Shenyang,capitalcityofLiaoningProvinceinnortheasternChina,welcomedmorethan1,000ChineseprivateentrepreneursandrepresentativesfromGlobal500companiestothe2018SummitofChinaTop500PrivateEnterprises.ThemeetingmarkedthesecondtimethesummitwasheldoutsideBeijingsinceitwaslaunchedbytheAll-ChinaFederationofIndustryandCommerce(ACFIC)nineyearsago.February12,2018:WorkersfromDalianSpecialSteelProductsCo.,Ltd.pourmoltensteelintoanAODfurnace.VCG
Inthe1950s,workerswithAnshanIronandSteelGroupCorporationbuiltblastfurnacegaspipelines.byCaiShangxiongDuringthemeeting,theACFICreleaseditsannualrankingofthe500largestChineseprivatecompanies,whichisabarometerforChina’sprivateeconomy.Eventhecompanyrankinglastonthelistregisteredrevenuesof15.7billionyuan(US$2.3billion)in2017.Thefigurereleasedlastyearwas12.1billionyuan(US$1.8billion).SmartphonemakerHuaweitoppedthelistwithrevenuesof603.6billionyuan(US$88billion),whilee-commerceretailerSuningtooksecondplace.
“China’sprivatebusinessesmaintainedhealthydevelopmentmomentumin2017,”saidACFICViceChairmanHuangRong,addingthatthecompanieshavesteadilyoptimizedtheirindustrialstructurewithgreatercontributionstosociety.Inthepastyear,theprivatesectorcontributedmorethan60percentofChina’sGDP,playinganincreasinglyimportantroleintheeconomy.ThereclaimermanufacturedbyDalianHuaruiHeavyIndustryGroupCo.,Ltd.hasacapacityof14,400tonsperhour.courtesyofthepublicitydepartmentofLiaoningprovincialPartycommitteeThethree-daysummitbecameaneconomicboontothenortheasternprovincebyprovidingenormousbusinessopportunities.Localgovernmentsandcompaniessignedagreementsfor76projectswithenterprisesonthelistduringthemeeting,thetotalvalueofwhichstandscloseto300billionyuan(US$43.9billion).Thisdemonstratedgrowingconfidenceintheregion’seconomicpotentialafterLiaoning’sGDPsurpassed1.1trillionyuan(US$160.8billion)inthefirsthalfof2018,upby5.6percentyear-on-year.
Liaoningistraditionallyasignificantindustrialbasedatingbacktothe1950s.DuringtheperiodofChina’sFirstFive-YearPlan(1953-1957),theprovincewelcomed24ofthe156nationalkeyprojectsandmorethan30percentofthecountry’stotalinvestment.Reputedtobe“China’sindustrialcradle,”Liaoningproducedmorethan200“China’sfirsts”inmanufacturingsuchasthefirstfighteraircraftandthefirst10,000-tonship.
However,Liaoninggraduallylaggedbehindinthepastdecadesasitshiftedawayfromitstraditionalindustrialmodelwithalargeproportionofstate-ownedenterprises.Economicgrowthwassluggishafter2010.ButnowLiaoningistransformingitseconomythroughhigh-qualitydevelopmentwithgrowingprivatebusinessesandexpandedinternationalcooperation.
“Tomeetthedemandforaconsumptionupgrade,wewillincreaseeffortstorevolutionizeourretailstoreswithcuttingedgetechnologies,”pledgedZhangJindong,chairmanofSuning.Hehighlightedthecompany’splantooperateabout600smartretailoutletsby2020inLiaoningProvincetosupportthegovernment’seffortstorestructuretheeconomy.
ZhangalsoremarkedthatprivateenterprisesaremajorbeneficiariesofChina’sreformandopening-uppolicyaslocalgovernmentsworkhardtocreateapro-businessenvironment.Liaoningofficialsareawareofthisdevelopment.Attheendof2016,theprovinceadoptedalawtoregulateandimproveitsbusinessenvironment.In2017,LiaoningestablishedChina’sfirstprovincial-levelsupervisorybureautoimprovethebusinessenvironment.
Aimingtooptimizeservices,increaseefficiencyandsavetimeandmoneyforbusinesses,theLiaoninggovernmenthasremaineddedicatedtotransformingpolicydesignintopracticalmeasures.Since2015,Liaoninghascanceledoradjustedmorethan1,000administrativeitems.Thankstotheseefforts,32certificatesinvolvedintheindustrialandcommercialregistrationhavebeenintegratedintoone,376certificatesareavailableimmediatelyuponapplication,and487itemscanbecompleted“inaone-timevisit.”
February11,2015:ThomasR.Armijo(left,front),thendirectorofsuppliermanagementofBoeingCommercialAirplanes,andZhuZhenjun,deputyheadofthedepartmentofcivilaircraftofAviationIndustryCorporationofChina(AVIC),signcooperationagreementstoestablishanAVIC-BoeingManufacturingInnovationCentersatelliteofficeinShenyang,LiaoningProvince.byYaoJianfeng/Xinhua
February23,2018:AcarisontheassemblylineofaShenyang-basedplantoperatedbyBMWBrillianceAutomobileLtd.,ajointventurebetweenBMWandBrillianceAuto.IC“Topavethewayforprivateinvestment,thegovernmentmustdeepenreformstolowerthethresholdbarringsomeenterprisesfromkeysectors,facilitatetaxandfeecuts,enhancethebridgeconnectingtherealeconomytofinancialservices,alleviatefinancingdifficultiesfacingsmallandmedium-sizedcompanies,andreduceoperatingcosts,”saidWangXinzhe,chiefeconomistofChina’sMinistryofIndustryandInformationTechnology,atthesummit.
In2017,Liaoningmanagedtoreducethetaxburdenonenterprisesby128.5billionyuan(US$18.8billion).Accordingtotheadministrationforindustryandcommerceoftheprovince,fromJanuarytoJulythisyear,newlyregisteredmarketentitiesinLiaoningnumbered381,000,upby9.1percentyear-on-year.
“TheweaklinksofLiaoning’seconomyarefoundintheprivatesector,butsoisitspotential,”saidChenQiufa,secretaryoftheLiaoningprovincialPartycommitteewhenaddressingthemeeting.Chendeclaredthattheprovincewouldfullysupporttheprivateeconomytostabilizeeconomicgrowth,pushtransformationandindustrialupgradeandincreaseemploymentbycreatingnewbusinessopportunities.
Thisyearmarksthe40thanniversaryofChina’sreformandopeningup,andthecountryaimstomarktheoccasionbybroadeningmarketaccess,improvinginvestmentenvironmentandexpandingimports.“GlobalinvestorsarelookingtoChinaforopportunities,”saidB.V.Shreedhar,vicepresidentoftheHongKongbranchoftheStateBankofIndia.
FosterArata,vicepresidentofBoeingCapitalCorporation,isawitnesstothelong-termcooperationofBoeingandlocalmanufacturersinLiaoning.TheShenyangCommercialAircraftCorporationhasproducedairplanecomponentsforBoeingsince1990,startingwithcargodoorsforthe757andexpandingtocomplexempennagemanufacturing.BoeingalsoopenedanAVIC-BoeingManufacturingInnovationCentersatelliteofficeinShenyangin2015.
“Today,morethanhalfofthecommercialjetlinersoperatinginChinaareBoeingplanes,andmorethan9,000BoeingaircraftflythroughouttheworldwithpartsandassembliesbuiltinChina,”Aratanoted.“BoeingwillcontinuetoadvanceChina’saviationindustryandpartnerwithChinaformutualbenefits.”
LiaoningProvince,likeotherregionsinthecountry,isopeningitsarmstoforeigninvestorsandentrepreneurs.Inthefirstsevenmonthsof2018,theactualuseofforeigninvestmentinLiaoningreachedUS$3.48billion,upby15.3percentyear-on-year.
“ThankstoLiaoning’sstrongmanufacturingpowerandsoundbusinessenvironment,ourcooperationhasbeensuccessful,”declaredJochenGoller,presidentofBMWGroupRegionChina.ThecompanyestablishedajointventurewithlocalcarmakerBrillianceAutoin2003andplanstobuilditsthirdfactoryintheprovincetoexpandproduction.
Liaoning’slatestefforttowardsfurtheropeninguphasbeenhighlightedbytheChina(Liaoning)PilotFreeTradeZonelaunchedinApril2017.Thefreetradezonetargetsinternationaltrade,modernmanufacturing,financialservices,modernlogisticsandscientificservicesandhaddrawn414foreign-investedcompaniesfrommorethan40countriesandregionsbyJulythisyear.Withimportsandexportsreaching71.77billionyuan(US$10.5billion)inthefirsthalfof2018,thezoneisexpectedtoexpandtradingpartnershipswithforeignenterprisesandbecomethedrivingforceindesigninganeweconomiclandscapeintheprovince.