This September, when Huaihua is offering us its charming autumn scenery amidst the heady fragrance of laurel blossoms, numerous Hunan entrepreneurs gather there for a grand event.
From September 12 to 14, the 11th Global Forum for Hunan Entrepreneurs with the theme of “New Leadership, New Hub and New Chapter” is held in Huaihua. Over 1,000 representatives of Hunan entrepreneurs and guests from all over the world gather in Huaihua, a city lying at the foot of Xuefeng Mountain and on the coast of Yuanjiang River, to revive hometown bonds and work together on development.
It is the first time that the forum is held in Huaihua in western Hunan Province. The year 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of the implementation of the Rise of Central China strategy, and the forum is an important event held after General Secretary Xi Jinping’s fourth visit to Hunan Province.
As a good host, Huaihua welcomes guests from all over the world. According to Xu Zhongjian, Secretary of CPC Huaihua Municipal Committee, the city will make citywide efforts to make preparations and strive for excellence and perfection, in a bid to hold a first-class forum with Huaihua characteristics and greater influence.
Main venue of the 11th Global Forum for Hunan Entrepreneurs.(Photo by Pan Yu/Huaihua Daily)
Going all out to host a grand forum
Hunan entrepreneurs serve as a mainstay in China’s business community as well as the most valuable commercial resource of Hunan Province. They have a strong attachment to Hunan, their hometown.
In 2007, the first forum for Hunan entrepreneurs was held in Changsha. Since then, the forum has been held 10 times on a biennial basis, with 1,920 investment and cooperation projects signed, with focus on the return of Hunan entrepreneurs.
In recent years, CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and People’s Government of Hunan Province have taken the return of Hunan entrepreneurs as a strategic measure to promote high-quality development and fully supported Hunan entrepreneurs to shoulder greater responsibility in Hunan’s economic and social development. The forum emerges as a world-renowned business and cultural “name card” of Hunan Province.
The 11th Global Forum for Hunan Entrepreneurs is the first global business event hosted by Huaihua City, which is of great significance to promoting its economic and social development. The forum is an important opportunity to showcase Huaihua’s achievements in economic and social development, an important measure to accelerate its high-quality development, and an important platform to open new chapters in development. It will surely empower Huaihua’s high-level opening up and high-quality development.
CPC Huaihua Municipal Committee and People’s Government of Huaihua City put the preparation of the Global Forum for Hunan Entrepreneurs on the top of the agenda. The authorities established an executive committee for the forum, with main leaders of the authorities in charge. The committee has an office and eight working groups responsible for overall planning and implementation.
Over the past few months, Xu Zhongjian, Secretary of CPC Huaihua Municipal Committee and Li Chunqiu, Deputy Secretary of CPC Huaihua Municipal Committee and Mayor of Huaihua City, conducted field inspections and scheduling many times, to ensure the full implementation of various tasks.
All parties in Huaihua City worked together to complete preparation tasks, spanning investment promotion, merchant invitation, project implementation, environment upgrading and service provision.
-- Three industry-specific events were orchestrated, with focus on Huaihua International Land Port, cold chain logistics, new display, medicine & health and other sectors. Efforts were concentrated on planning the opening ceremony, a highlight of the forum, thereby paving the way for holding an influential forum.
-- The “Year of Investment Promotion” was further advanced. Extensive door-to-door visits were made to merchants for investment promotion. Thanks to these efforts, Huaihua achieved the goal of signing contracts amounting to RMB50 billion for the Global Forum for Hunan Entrepreneurs, laying a solid foundation for holding an effective forum.
-- Four city parks, including Su Yu Park and People’s Park, have been built and opened to the public; green space of 15,800 square meters were added; 10 municipal roads, 69 back streets and alleys, and 61 old residential compounds were upgraded and renovated. As the city takes on a new look, people have a renewed sense of happiness and gain.
-- Huaihua proposed an initiative themed “Being a Good Host and Welcoming the Global Forum for Hunan Entrepreneurs”, to engage all parties in this grand event.
With all preparations completed, Huaihua is ready to welcome friends from around the world to join this grand event and seek win-win development.
On July 13, the Entrepreneurs Conference of the 11th Global Forum for Hunan Entrepreneurs and Huaihua (Hangzhou) Investment Promotion Conference Matching the Yangtze River Delta was held in Hangzhou. At the conference, Huaihua signed 14 projects, with a total investment of RMB4,573 million.
(Photo by Yang Zhiwei/Huaihua Daily)
An upsurge in the return of Hunan entrepreneurs
The moon viewed from home is brighter.
“I feel a close, ineffable affinity with Huaihua. The city has given strong support to those who return to their hometown to start business and make investment.” Recalling his entrepreneurial experience, Mou Xiaofeng, Chairman of Hunan Xiangtong Industry Co., Ltd., expressed his deep affection for his hometown.
In 2022, Mou returned to his hometown Huaihua from Shanghai, known as a “Magic City”. He founded Hunan Xiangtong Industry Co., Ltd. in Huitong. To facilitate the implementation of the first signed project as quickly as possible, Mou decided to rent the standardized factory buildings in Huitong Industrial Development Zone.
“We rented standardized factory buildings of about 50,000 square meters in the development zone. The next day when we went to the factory buildings, we found that all the items originally stored there were cleared.” According to Mou, normally it would take a week to vacate the factory buildings, but Huaihua made it over night.
This not only demonstrated “Huaihua speed” but also strengthened Mou’s determination to expand business in Huaihua.
In 2023, Xiangtong invested RMB1 billion and RMB500 million in the first and second phases of the bag project, respectively. In January this year, Xiangtong invested another RMB100 million in the bag metal zipper production project, increasing its total investment to RMB1.6 billion and annual production capacity to over 10 million bags. In light of the booming bag & suitcase industry in Huaihua and Huaihua’s regional advantages, Mou Xiaofeng proposed the goal of increasing the scale of the bag & suitc
Zeng Guang, Chairman of Hunan Joy Speed Cold Chain Technology Co., Ltd., is optimistic about Huaihua’s business environment. He not only invested in the smart cold chain digital logistics center in Huaihua, but also acted as a matchmaker to facilitate the implementation of projects in Huaihua, such as the project of SF Express Group.
“I can feel its vitality and potential, as well as its enabling business environment. I have witnessed, participated in and benefited from the development of Huaihua International Land Port into a characteristic land port that offers cold chain services. We grow and thrive with Huaihua,” said Zeng Guang.
Huaihua has designated this year as the “Year of Investment Promotion”. Focusing on such key areas as Huaihua International Land Port, “5+10” modern industrial system, integrated development of Hecheng District and Zhongfang County, and tourism triangle, the city has worked to introduce more large and competitive enterprises and promote the return of Hunan entrepreneurs and Huaihua entrepreneurs to their hometowns.
Huaihua has put the improvement of the business environment on the top of the agenda. Taking the Global Forum for Hunan Entrepreneurs as an opportunity, the city formulated and implemented 12 measures to upgrade the business environment, with an effort to foster a market-oriented, law-based and international business environment.
Huaihua has stepped up efforts to pursue mutual development with entrepreneurs. To develop a low-cost environment, the city has worked to enhance policies, care and confidence, resolve the difficulties faced by primary-level institutions, enterprises and people, and improve work style, services and environment. It has established a mechanism that minimizes unnecessary involvement in enterprises’ operation, launched the “Entrepreneur Green Card” system, set May 5 of each year as the “Entrepreneurs’ Day” in Huaihua, and streamlined business handling procedures for investors.
Huaihua has witnessed an upsurge in the return of Hunan entrepreneurs. Since the beginning of the year, the city has carried out more than 300 events to boost the return of Hunan entrepreneurs, with over 3,000 Hunan entrepreneurs approached and 218 projects introduced, with a total investment of RMB68.51 billion. The returning Hunan entrepreneurs registered over 100 enterprises, up 133%, ranking among the top in Hunan Province.
Huaihua International Land Port.(Photo by Pan Yu/Huaihua Daily)
Working together for a better future
The 11th Global Forum for Hunan Entrepreneurs aims to promote the land and sea trade corridor and business exchanges.
After years of development and enhancement, the forum will present a new look this time.
The reporter learned from the organizing committee that this forum focuses on the development of the three hubs, Huaihua International Land Port and global R&D hub, as well as the coordinated development of western Hunan Province. Prioritizing such key industries as new display, logistics, medicine and cultural tourism, the forum will showcase Hunan’s characteristics and advantages with a global vision and through a global platform.
Five main events and eight parallel events will be held during the forum, including the conference on the establishment of Hunan Entrepreneurs Association in Hunan and Hunan entrepreneurs headquarters base, opening ceremony, exchange meeting on the development of the new display industry, exchange meeting on the development of Huaihua International Land Port and cold chain logistics, exchange meeting on the development of the medicine & health industry and TCM ISO international standards conference in Huaihua.
The forum encourages Hunan entrepreneurs to play a leading role. Over 1,000 people have been invited to the forum, including heads of enterprises included in the Fortune 500, China 500 and top 500 private enterprise lists, well-known representatives of Hunan entrepreneurs such as overseas Chinese merchants and leaders of overseas Chinese associations, representatives of academicians and experts from domestic universities and research institutes, and representatives of domestic and overseas Hunan chambers of commerce and international chambers of commerce. Besides, 664 Hunan chambers of commerce outside Hunan Province and 46 overseas Hunan chambers of commerce will organize their member enterprises to attend the forum online. Sub venues of Hunan chambers of commerce will also be set up in some key areas.
The 11th Global Forum for Hunan Entrepreneurs highlights merchant invitation and investment promotion. The projects to be signed at the forum are dominated by Hunan entrepreneurs. Centering around the development of the three hubs, “4×4” modern industrial system in Hunan, Hunan entrepreneurs headquarters base, and Huaihua International Land Port, the upgrading of 11 industrial chains, and the building of Changsha into a global R&D hub, the projects fully demonstrate the essential role of Hunan entrepreneurs in expediting the high-quality development of Hunan Province.
These projects also focus on introducing large-scale and competitive enterprises, industrial development and return of Hunan entrepreneurs. Among them, 30% of the provincial projects have an investment of over RMB1 billion; manufacturing projects account for about 80% in terms of number and total investment amount; and investment projects with Hunan entrepreneurs account for over 60% in terms of number and total investment amount.
It is worth mentioning that this forum will apply for the first Green Electricity Certificate Transaction Voucher for domestic conference by using the Green Energy Certificate (GEC). It will be the first event of its kind to use green electricity in China.
“The Global Forum for Hunan Entrepreneurs is an important platform to showcase enterprises’ achievements and promote exchanges and cooperation between Hunan entrepreneurs.” Yang Xiaoying, Chairman of Hunan Huasheng Diantong Technology Co., Ltd., hoped that this forum could help improve the enterprise’s visibility and attract more partners and investors. She also hoped that the event could promote the implementation of more high-quality projects in Huaihua and facilitate Huaihua’s industrial development.
“As a local enterprise in Huaihua, Jiahui has benefited remarkably from local development.” Li Xiaohong, Chairman of Hunan Jiahui Department Store Co., Ltd., said that as the city enters the “3.0 era”, it is hoped that more entrepreneurs can choose Huaihua and work together for a brighter future.
It is the right time to invest in Huaihua.
Huaihua is the only intersection of the new western land-sea corridor and the great international land-sea trade corridor that connects the Indian Ocean in central China. In recent years, the city has implemented the “three highlands and four new missions” vision and the “five new missions and four orientations” strategy; developed Huaihua International Land Port into an important strategic platform for central China to contribute to RCEP; facilitated the development of new display, bag & leatherware, TCM and other industries; and developed a new model of opening up that relies on the new western land-sea corridor and the great international land-sea trade corridor, connects the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean and serves domestic and international economic flows.
This forum brings together Hunan entrepreneurs from all over the world to create a better future of Hunan Province. Huaihua, a blessed land, looks forward to working with Hunan entrepreneurs to foster more cooperation opportunities, achieve more results in development, and write a new chapter in the high-quality development of Hunan Province.
(Translated by Professor Yu Jie)