AnintelligentworkshopofasportswearcompanyinJinjiang,southeastChina’sFujianProvinceXINHUAAt5:55p.m.localtimeonOctober15,2017,inOlbiaCityontheItalianislandofSardinia,PresidentoftheInternationalSchoolSportFederationLaurentPetrynkabeganopeninganenvelopecontainingthewinnerofthebidtohosttheGymnasiade2020,aninternationalsportingeventforyoungathletes.Themeetingroomwassilent.Hepulledacardoutoftheenvelope.Itread“Jinjiang2020.”
Jinjiang,asmallcoastalcityinsoutheastChina’sFujianProvince,willbecomethesecondChinesecitytohosttheevent,afterits11theditioninShanghaiin1998.Itssuccessfulbidisaptrecognitionofthecity’sdevelopmentinthepastfewdecades.
“I’mveryexcitedandproudofmyhometown,”saidDingShizhong,ChairmanandCEOofAntaSports,oneofChina’slargestsportsshoemanufacturers,havingfollowedthebiddingprocessfromstarttofinish.
AntaSportswasborninJinjiangin1991,andhasgrownintoChina’sleadingsportswearbrandwithover10,000outletsandamarketvaluerankedthirdintheindustryworldwide,afterNikeandAdidas.Thebrandhasbeenbothwitnesstoandparticipantinthecity’sgrowth.
Jinjianghasbeencalledthe“CityofBrands”forcultivatingover68,000registeredtrademarks,including42ofChina’swell-knowntrademarksincludingAnta,andiswellknownforathrivingprivateeconomy.ButthereismoretoJinjiangthantraditionalindustries.Thecityisworkingtoupgradeitstraditionalsectorsandnurturehi-techdevelopment.
“Wehopethatmaturetraditionalindustriescanserveasasolidbaseforthedevelopmentofemergingindustries,andthattheadvancementofthelattercanbringanewlooktotheformer,”WangWenhui,ViceMayorofJinjiang,toldChinAfrica.
Ashoestory
Jinjiangisnowknownastheworld’slargestproductionbaseforsportsshoes.
Accordingtothecity’sofficialstatistics,oneoutofeveryfivepairsofsportsshoesworldwideismadeinJinjiang,withover4,800shoecompaniesinthecityemploying280,000people.BesidesAnta,manybigbrandslikeXtepand361Degreesalsooriginatedinthecity.Thecity’sshoeindustrybeganinasmallsatellitetowncalledChendai,whichnow,alongwithotherpartsofJinjiang,hasover100shoebrands.Notallofthemwouldsurvivethecompetitionofthefollowingdecades,butthosethatdidprosperedandwentontoclaimasubstantialshareofthedomesticmarket.TodaytheshoeindustryformsoneofthetwoindustrialclustersinJinjiangwhoseworthexceeds100billionyuan($15.2billion),theotherbeingtextilesandgarments.ChendaiisnowintheprocessoftakingtheshoeindustrytothenextlevelbybuildingalargemarketcalledJinjiangInternationalShoesandTextileCitycoveringanareaof527hectares.SinceitopenedlastOctober,over1,000commercialtenantshavealreadymovedin,sellingrawandprocessedmaterialsforshoe-makingsuchasaccessories,fabricandleather.
“Wetargetnotonlythedomesticmarket,butalsocustomersallaroundtheworld,”LiXiaohuan,GeneralManagerofthemarket,said,addingthattheyarehopingtobuilditintothelargestshoematerialtradingcenterinAsiawithacompleteandinnovativerangeofrawmaterialsandaccessories.
DingWanyu,Managerofacompanyproducingfabricforshoes,saidthenewmarkethashelpedbusinesspeoplelikeherreachinternationalcustomersthroughtradefairsandexhibitions.
“WehaveestablishedlinkswithcustomersfromSouthAmericaandtheMiddleEast,andIbelievethatcontinuingtoupgradeourproductstocatertocustomers’demandsisthekeytobetterbusiness,”shesaid.
DespiteDing’ssuccess,findingawayintotheglobalmarketisnoteasyandDingisawareofthegapbetweenAntaSportsandotherglobalindustryleaders.
“ThisyearweplantovisittheforemosttechnologycompaniesintheUnitedStatesandlearnfromthem,”hesaid.
AshowroominAntaSports’headquartersinJinjiangDONGNINGHi-techpower
EntrepreneurslikeDingShizhonghaverealizedhowimportanttechnologycanbe,andsohastheJinjiangMunicipalGovernment.Accordingtoagovernmentreport,thecityhascultivated85hi-techcompaniessofar,andresearchanddevelopmentinvestmentnowaccountsfor2.65percentofthecity’sGDP.
“Buthi-techindustriesaccountforarelativelysmallproportionofthecity’seconomy.Innovation-drivendevelopmenthereisfarfromstrong,”saidViceMayorWang.
In2016,thecitybegantodevelopitsintegratedcircuit(IC)industryasanewengineofgrowth,inlinewiththenationalpolicytoadvanceICtechnology.
AccordingtoWang,Jinjiangwillstartwiththeproductionofmemorychips,whichcurrentlylagsbehindinChina,beforegoingontobuildacompleteICindustrychain,incorporatingdesign,manufacturing,packaging,testing,andterminalapplication.
“WeplantomaketheICindustryanotherindustrialclusterworthmorethan100billionyuan($14.9billion)by2025,”Wangsaid.
Awell-developedICindustrycanalsohelpthecitytoupgradetraditionalindustriesandproducts,suchasshoes,clothes,daily-useitemsandmachinery.Wangrevealedthatlocalmanufacturershavealreadyexploredputtingchipsinshoestomakethemmoreintelligent.
“Somecompaniesarealsotryingtoputchipsindiaperstohelpdetectanddrawattentiontochildren’sbowelmovements,andevenchecktheirphysiologicalstatus,”Wangsaid.Hebelievesthattraditionalsectorsprovideahugemarketanddemandfortheapplicationofhi-techindustries.
Humanresourcestrategy
FujianJinhuaIntegratedCircuitisoneoftheplaceswhereJinjiang’sICindustryisburgeoning.EstablishedinFebruary2016,thecompanyhasbeenworkingonamemorychipprojectaspartofthenationalplan.XuZheng,ViceManagerofJinhua,isanameinseparablefromthestoryofthecompany’sgrowth.XuusedtoworkasanengineerinSiliconValleyoftheUnitedStates,butherecentlychosetosettledowninJinjiang.
“JinjiangisalotlikeSiliconValley,aquietplacewithoutthehustleandbustleofmegacities,idealforacademicresearch,”hesaid.
Inadditiontopersonalpreference,Jinjiang’spoliciesonhigh-caliberpersonnelplayedanimportantroleinXu’sdecisiontoleaveCalifornia.Hebenefitsfromthecity’spreferentialpolicytowardprofessionalsintheICindustry,underwhichthegovernmentratesspecializedpersonnelbasedontheireducation,academicachievements,experience,honorsandawards,andprovidessubsidiesinaccommodations,medicalcareandchildren’seducationaccordingly.
ToattractmoreprofessionalslikeXu,localgovernmenthascomeupwithaseriesofpoliciesandincentives.AccordingtoadocumentreleasedbytheJinjiangMunicipalCommitteeoftheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC)inJune,personswiththerequisiteabilitiesareofferedamaximumsubsidyof1.2millionyuan($182,000)tobuyahouse,whilestartupscanaccessseedfundingofupto30millionyuan($4.56million).
Inadditiontofinancialsupport,thecityalsopaysattentiontotrainingforentrepreneursandspecializedprofessionalsfromdifferentareas,especiallyhi-techindustries.
“Theclassesarenotonlyaplacetolearnandexpandthetrainees’horizons,butalsoaplatformforthemtoinnovateandfindopportunitiesforcooperation,”HuangJianhua,DeputyDirectoroftheOrganizationDepartmentoftheCPCJinjiangMunicipalCommittee,toldChinAfrica.
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