Overseas inspirations in promoting county-level economic development

China has made remarkable achievements in its economic development and become the second-largest economy in the world during the past four decades. Nevertheless, there is still a large gap between China and developed countries in urbanization.

On the one hand, there are no obvious differences between large cities in China such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen and their counterparts in developed countries. On the other hand, the economic growth of some Chinese counties remains sluggish.

There are over 2,800 counties in China, accounting for 91 percent of the country's land and 71 percent of its population.

Zhang mentioned an old Chinese saying to the effect that if the counties are well governed, then everywhere will be safe. However, vast county-level regions in China have shown a severe lack of economic growth. The disparity between them and their counterparts in developed countries is considerable.

China's counties have been generally short of capital, professional talent and well-functioning infrastructure, and have failed to lure high-end industries, technologies and talent. By contrast, small cities in developed countries have already become top destinations for the headquarters of many large-scale enterprises, including some of the world's top 500 companies, because of their advanced supporting facilities, beautiful environments and comfortable living conditions.

Take Irvine, a small town in Orange County in the state of California, as an example. It covers an area of about 88 square kilometers and has a population of 266,000. About one-third of the world's top 500 companies have established offices in Irvine. At present, there are 26,000 companies and 235,000 employees there, generating annual tax revenue of roughly $40 billion.

Zhang explained that the success of Irvine has provided CFLD with inspiration in accelerating the economic growth of Chinese counties. The building of a New Industry City cannot solely rely on governmental investment, since a majority of governments cannot afford such a giant scheme, which is a systematic project and demands professional talent and technologies, as well as the latest concepts and models concerning urban administration.

Thus the insufficiency of capital, talent, technologies and industries are some of the major factors restraining the economic development of counties. In response, CFLD has come up with its New Industry City model and summarized it into a code, the so-called 16443.

According to the code, industrial development is central. Drawing upon the experience and practice of Irvine, CFLD has provided county-level governments with six types of services, which include consultation on planning and design, land consolidation, infrastructure development, the building of public facilities, industrial development, and urban operation and maintenance.

Using this framework, CFLD has addressed the main issues in the development of counties' economies and built a New Industry City with unique charisma, appeal, capacity and competitiveness, and attracted a collection of high-end industries with the latest technology and high-skilled talent.