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Chairman Yang Feng Gave a Speech on High-level Theory Seminar on Potential and Business Opportunities of Qinzhou Guangxi发布时间：
On November 13, 2005, invited by the municipal party committee and government of Qinzhou Guangxi, Chairman Yang Feng attended the "2nd International Dolphin Festival of Qinzhou China" and was also invited to give a speech on the high-level theory seminar on "Potential and Business Opportunities of Qinzhou" hosted by the city's party committee and government.
Chairman Yang paid much attention to the development of Qinzhou. He had made several inspection visits to the city and thus had an in-depth knowledge of its cultural geography, politics and economy. Targeting the development mentality of "large industry, large port, large tourism" raised by the city, on the seminar Chairman Yang gave a speech with the title Industrial Deployment and Urban Operation of Qinzhou. From the two aspects, industry and port development, he voiced his unique understanding on its industrial deployment and urban operation. His speech was highly praised by other experts and scholars. The city's party committee and government both considered that his opinions were a best guide for the development of Qinzhou and had inspired senior management of the government. The speech of Chairman Yang is as follows.
Industrial Deployment and Urban Operation of Qinzhou
Qinzhou is a latecomer in the reform and opening up of China. However, it boasts very special and distinctive advantages in natural resources. Located at the middle of Beibu Gulf, its continental coastline stretches 520 km and its island coastline stretches 320 km. Backing on Southwestern China which is rich in resources, facing the Southeastern Asia abundant in business opportunities and adjacent to the Pearl River Delta Economic Circle, home to the Nanning-Beihai-Qinzhou-Fangchenggang coastal economic chain planned and developed by Guangxi, Qinzhou is endowed with these innate and favorable geographic conditions. It will lie in the urban operators (the city's party committee and government) to apply mechanism and plan a good use of these advantaged conditions to maximize the values of the city.
I. Relationship between industrial deployment and positioning of urban development
Qinzhou is positioned by its party committee and government as "large port, large industry, large tourism". I want to share my views on the two aspects, large port and large industry.
Firstly, based on the existing resource advantages of the city, I think the strategic goal is well-grounded to build Qinzhou into large port and large industry. Its innate port resources and conditions will reduce huge costs for the building of a large port. It can provide natural construction conditions for the building of a large port with its deep-water coastline as long as over 60 km, a concealed and spacious harbor land-form in its south, good shelter conditions, little back-silting, stable shores and smooth water flows.
How large should the large port be? How to define the scale of the port? I opine that a reasonable standard for defining the scale should be based on the handling capacity and industry supporting capacity of the port. The decision-makers of Zhuhai has ever proposed and experimented the urban operation concept of large port. Part of the large port of Zhuhai has taken shape, but the large port of Zhuhai is not matched with large industry, since the decision-makers of Zhuhai have positioned Zhuhai as a high-tech industrial area free of industrial pollution in the course of urban operation. (The relationship between large industry and the port and that between high-tech industry and the port are different. Limited by time, I won't talk on this issue in details). Here I only talk about the difference between high-tech industry and large industry in transport demands. The positioning mentality of Qinzhou's party committee and government may have already drawn some lessons from other cities such as Zhuhai. Qinzhou has matched large port with large industry and supported the large port with the development of large industry. I think, this practice is consistent with the actual situation of Qinzhou.
The key to decision making lies in the matching scale between large port and large industry. Should Qinzhou drive large industry with large port, or promote large port with the development of large industry? Viewed from the surface, the two are in a relationship of resource matching. However, in the urban operation, large port is the most favorable precondition in operating the city. Its port resources and conditions are innate, which are where the potential values of Qinzhou lie. Its direct value and meaning is that Qinzhou has a large port, which is suitable for the development of large industry. Therefore, I assert that the development of the port should be put in the top position. Qinzhou should drive the oriented development of its industry with the glamour of its port.
Based on the aforesaid conditions, should the port be developed as a whole or in steps? This should be considered at the moment, namely, the matching of resources. Considered from the angle of urban operation, it is also about market supply and demand. I suggest urban operators to develop a research subject. In studying the subject, they should take into a full consideration the structure of the city's industrial chain. The economic structure of cities that are developing relatively healthily in the world today basically takes the shape of an olive, namely, on its two pointed ends, one is high-end and brand industries, the other end is relatively backward industries such as agriculture and stock farming, while at the central position is middle class stage. If the proportion of the central part is reasonable, the economy of the city will develop healthily and the society will also be under a best stable state. The industrial structure layout is complementary with division of labor and job opportunities in the society. As to the division of labor in an olive-shaped industrial structure, the trend of employment lies on the two pointed ends of the olive, on one end is high-end and brand industries (whose employees are very likely to be high income group), while on the other end is the part with a low content of technology and backward technology (this part may be the part that causes pressure to the society, for they are very likely to be the low income group). The central part of the olive structure may become the core part of the industrial structure, whose employees are known as wage-earning class.
Judged by the planning mentality of the party committee and government on the city's development, if the strategic goal of large port and large industry set in the present stage can be realized, in the future Qinzhou's economic structure will take on the shape of an olive. One of its pointed ends will lie in its 60 km or longer coastlines, which will drive the formation of an industrial system at the central area of the olive. The other pointed end maybe the agriculture of rural areas that is yet to be transformed. After the olive structure is formed, high-salary class may occupy part of the residents of Qinzhou, the wage earning class will be the majority, while the low income class may be an extremely small part. This will be the best urban structure, which is most desired by the management of each city. Secondly, after the launch of Qinzhou Port influences its surrounding areas, how much effect can it bring and how much materials will flow in and out of the port. On November 4, 2002, an agreement was signed by the ten members of ASEAN; from 2004 to 2006, the tariff of around 1,600 products between China and ASEAN will be gradually reduced to zero; in 2010, a free trade zone between China and ASEAN will be established. After the internationalization of regional economy and trade, there will be more exchange of commodities between China and the Southeastern Asia. The transport of cargoes between most coastal regions and island countries of ASEAN will mainly rely on maritime transport. As one of the marine estuaries in the Southwestern China, Qinzhou Port is also the nearest port city to the ASEAN. All favorable conditions like this will provide a strong support to the large port and make the party committee and government of Qinzhou more determined to step up efforts in the construction of the port. However, the facts in this respect may be related with the operating philosophy of the port owner. Here I will not talk about it in details.
I think that the city's party committee and government have tasted the sweetness from the implementation of large port strategy. At present quite many industrial brands have successively scrambled for the front end of the olive of Qinzhou. Industrial projects with an output value of over a hundred billion Yuan has been under operation. The Qinzhou Port is changing with each passing day. Such scenes used to be staged in frontline cities in the reform and opening up such as Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Pudong of Shanghai, but is seldom seen in latecomer cities.
II. Urban benefits can be maximized only from a match between the personality charm of urban managers and charisma of the city
In the history Qinzhou has had many opportunities. In the Outline for Founding a State, Mr. Sun Yat-sen mentioned Qinzhou Bay. However, for various reasons, the charisma of Qinzhou Bay had not been fully exhibited to the world. The intrinsic charisma of Qinzhou has not been exhibited until today under the correct strategic guidance of "large port, large industry, large tourism" raised by the city's party committee and government.
Viewed from my personal investment experience, I believe that to a great extent the charisma of a city depends on the manifestation of charm of its managers. Before the charisma of a city can be appreciated, it needs to be understood and packaged. Like a person, a city also needs to be dressed up. Who is the person that dresses up the city? It's the managers of the city. To judge whether a city is dressed up to be charming, we can first observe how the managers of the city are dressed up. Namely, the city managers must be dressed appropriately to highlight their unique personality charm. Other than their dressing, the more important is their manners and quality. Their personality charm will directly influence the charisma of the city. The urban manager of Dalian has ever created a miracle in this aspect. Many successful urban management cases also tell us, large investments of large corporations are surely finally made thanks to the influence of the charm of senior management of the city. Therefore, the behaviors, personality and image of senior management of the city will directly influence the determinations of investors. If investors are not attracted, how can a city develop its charisma? The charisma of the city is closely related with the investment heat of the city. Only in this way can the city have its bright spots and appeal, and can the urban managers have the conditions to sell their own city at a high price. The so-called "selling the city" refers to the pursuit of maximum urban benefits in the operation of a city. It does not mean ceding the city to others, but means making use of the mechanism to realize urban construction based on businesses and let the businesses do the things which the government wants to do but is unable to do. (For example, the construction of most roads in Guangdong relies on foreign investment. Though the income of toll charge belongs to the enterprises, the roads belong to the people of Guangdong; HWL holds 65% of the shares of Yantian Port in Shenzhen, but the port is used by all enterprises). We can conclude from many cases in the practice that the more the enterprises are involved in the urban operation on behalf of the government, the less the relative pressure on the government will be, and the higher its fiscal revenue will be. On the contrary, the more the government is involved in urban operation, the greater the burden of the government will be. For example, the government of Zhuhai has ever been stuck in a debt of tens of billions of Yuan for its proactive infrastructure construction, which is still moving on with a heavy burden. From this case, we can draw a lot of experience and lessons. After the city realizes enterprise-based operation, the role played by the government is functional organization offering administrative service to the enterprises. The government should perform its administrative functions as the authority such as collecting tax while serving the enterprises. The collected tax will be used to make the city much more charming. It is a key goal of management to keep the values of the city rising.