Most impressive manufacturing hub

We were also able to visit Zhejiang ZXBio Co Ltd, a new startup in the Deqing county of Huzhou that makes products used in diagnostic testing in hospitals. Zhang Yang, the 30-year-old founder and president of the company, said that a supportive environment created by the local government was critical to his decision to start his company in the area. Also, the local government has concentrated on providing technical education to the local people, so he is able to find qualified workers.

Zhejiang TopRS Technology Company, the only State-owned company we visited, produces highly detailed aerial and satellite-based maps that are used in agriculture, ecological protection, and urban planning. Their products will enable their customers to improve productivity in a wide variety of industries. As with other high-tech companies, this company relies on local government support that has created a geospatial imaging industrial park that is important to founding a cluster of specialized expertise. Also, local education emphasizes giving workers the specialized skills needed in the industry.

We also met with Pu Xinquan, president of Jintongwang Dress Company, maker of K-Boy and K-Girl brand of children's clothing. He said that the company devotes many resources to R&D to meet the needs of China's large consumer market. He sees no need to move to export markets.

Clothing manufacturing is exactly the type of industry that might be expected to leave China as wages rise, but Pu said that spending on R&D, moving to higher value-added products, and investing in advanced manufacturing processes make it possible for his company to adapt.

Like the other companies, Jintongwang found local government support key to surviving the COVID-19 epidemic and keeping its employees on the payroll. Pu said:"The government has done a lot, now it is up to us."

We were also able to visit two companies that illustrate Chinese consumers' desire for vacation opportunities in the countryside. Giraffe Manor is a beautiful outdoor zoo with giraffes, raccoons, monkeys, and lots of birds－parakeets, parrots, macaws and other birds I can't even identify. It's a paradise for kids, bird-watchers or photographers. And, the Miaoxi Homestay is a small hotel－designed in an elegant modern style－that brings income to a rural area.

Huzhou is a microcosm of the big changes in the Chinese economy over the last 40 years. The region developed through a combination of a very entrepreneurial, hardworking population combined with government policies that have built a good business environment with access to a skilled workforce and excellent infrastructure. The industrial clusters make the Yangtze River Delta region perhaps the most impressive manufacturing center in the world.

Ma Zhenhuan, He Wei and Xiao Da in Huzhou contributed to this story.