Silk Road on the sea

Clean air, robust marine economy to fuel Zhoushan's free trade zone plans

Huge crowds and busy days were something that the 25-year-old Zhu Meifang had not envisaged when she took up employment at the Starbucks outlet in Zhoushan Islands New Area last year.

But with a steady stream of investors and visitors coming in after the Zhoushan Port Comprehensive Bonded Zone said last month that it had started official operations of its first-phase project, Zhu has her hands full.

Zhu, a native of Zhoushan, says she left her hometown as a teenager to see the outside world, but returned a year ago to take advantage of the government decision to use the island as a pilot zone for revitalizing China's marine economy.

"When I was a child I thought my hometown was boring as it had just fishing boats and shipyards. There was hardly any buzz here. That has changed and we now see people and investors from all over the world flocking to the islands. The industries on the island have also become more diversified, and I think it is the right time for people like me to come back to surf the tide," Zhu says.

When the Zhoushan Port Comprehensive Bonded Zone announced on Jan 8 that it had started official operations of its first-phase project it also marked the region's first steps in its quest to be a free trade zone.

Alongside fine wines from France, premium chocolates from Belgium and extra virgin olive oil from Greece, shipping, information and warehousing services from European countries are expected to set up shop in the proposed free trade zone.

Located in Zhejiang province, the zone covers 2.55 square kilometers on the Zhoushan islands.

Though the bonded zone is the first step in Zhoushan's goal to become a free trade zone, it is also an integral part of the government plan for boosting its marine economy.

Some 110 companies have been registered in the bonded zone and another 20 are undergoing the registration process. The combined investments of projects running in the zone will reach some 31 billion yuan ($5.12 billion, 3.7 billion euros), says Bei Luguo, director of the bonded zone authorities.

The bonded zone intends to be a center for maritime equipment manufacturing, biological and electronics industries and warehousing, with a focus on shipping, financial and exhibition services.

It will also position itself as a commodity-based bonded zone for the Asia-Pacific region in line with its plan to be a free trade zone and ultimately a free trade port.

Zhoushan has also sought permission to set up a pilot cross-border e-commerce platform, according to city government officials. Other plans include more investment in shipping route development and port infrastructure and a negative list for marine economy development.

"We are planning to acquire and store the usage rights for coastal areas. It is important to ensure that the coastal resources are effectively used and the environment is protected," says Zhang Yi, director of the financial department under the Development and Reform Commission of the Zhoushan city.

"The best thing about Zhoushan is its excellent air quality," says Shen Yingqi, a 22-year-old Zhoushan college student who majors in clean energy.

The city has the best air quality among all the cities in China's mainland thanks to its low carbon emissions and ocean winds.

Shen says that an important lesson he learnt during his college days was the need to protect the environment. "Most of our resources come from the sea and it is important to protect the marine ecosystem. Protecting the environment is like safeguarding our good fortune," he says.

"Though it may sound cliched, most of the Zhoushan locals, who were born by the seaside and brought up on a seafood diet, know how environmental changes can impact lives," Shen says.

The biggest task for local authorities and residents is how to protect the environment, the clean air, clean seawater and clean coastline, says Hu Haiguang, the official spokesman for the Zhoushan government.

The city also plans to generate power through a garbage combustion electricity generation project.

Located on Tuanjishan island in Dinghai district, about 64 kilometers across the sea from the Shenjiamen fishing port of the main island of Zhoushan, the project aims to convert 600 metric tons of garbage into power.

City officials say that the project will help standardize urban household garbage facilities, save land resources, improve livelihood and facilitate sustainable development. It will also alleviate the fiscal burden of the local government and improve Zhoushan's ecological system.

"All the garbage from the city will be shipped to the plant to generate power," says Zhu Zikuan, manager of the power plant.

The project has also helped transform Tuanjishan, which used to be a landfill before 2008, says Zhang Lian, a conservancy worker on the island.

Talent drive

Song Min-ho, an adviser at Yangfan Group Co Ltd, a shipbuilding company, says Zhoushan has become his second home.

With a gentle ocean breeze and ample seafood resources, life in Zhoushan is not much different from that in Seoul, Song says.

But working in the shipyards at Yangfan Group has been quite a different experience.

"I am here to reform," says Song, adding that his mission is to help the shipbuilder become a world-class enterprise.

Song, a veteran of the shipbuilding industry is well known for his value engineering system, a management technique that seeks to improve the value of goods or products and services by using an examination of functions. He is one of several experts that the city has managed to rope in under its various talent attraction programs.

Yangfan Group, formerly known as Zhoushan Shipyard, was established in 1952 and specializes in shipbuilding and marine outfitting manufacturing.

Spread over 2.25 million square meters along a 5,239-meter coastline, the group has made a mark as a shipbuilder and marine products manufacturer.

"Yangfan has resources that many peers may admire, but its output does not match what it owns," says Song.

For Song, "start-up" is literal and he admits that it is not an easy task to reform a shipbuilder with more than six decades of history.

The first few pages of his extensive reform notes are on how to educate employees in good work practices and to refrain from bad habits like smoking. Safety is the paramount concern in all steps, he says.

"I realized that it is essential to make the employees realize that they are fully in line with the company goals and vision," he says. Though Yangfan's workers can match up to the rest of the world in terms of speed, the overall labor costs are very high, which in turn reduces the overall efficiency, Song says.

Recruiting research and development talent has become a top priority for the Zhoushan government as it seeks more steps to boost its marine economy.

"To develop the marine industrial sector, we need more talent, preferably the best brains," says Wang Xiongjun, director of Zhoushan city's high-end talent recruitment program. Last year, the city issued a series of policies aimed at enhancing its talent bank in science and technology, Wang says.

The city has set aside 500 positions for technological professionals from home and overseas, and plans to recruit more talent to help implement development strategies for the new zone in the next five years.

It also plans to offer start-up funding of 3 million yuan each for talented professionals to start their ventures. Investment funding and finance guarantees will also be provided based on the evaluation of projects.

"It is not just the funding, but also the policies and opportunities that will help talents start their careers in Zhoushan. We hope that if they do well here, they will stay for longer periods," Wang says.

wuyiyao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 02/28/2014 page14)