Adapting to Changes is What Drives Vitality

FHIDZ (Chancheng Industry Park), located in the central urban area of Foshan, spans 15.79 square kilometers. Within this area, a leading industrial system has emerged, featuring modern services along with four key sectors: electronic information, intelligent equipment manufacturing, new energy auto parts, and biomedicine—often referred to as the "1+4" Industrial model.

In July 2022, the Foshan Municipal Party Committee initiated the development of “Ten Innovation-Driven Characteristic Manufacturing Parks” and “Ten Modern Service Industry Clusters” (hereinafter referred to as "Double Ten Parks"). This initiative leverages large-scale industrial platforms to address the challenges of fragmented industrial zones and disconnected industries in Foshan. The goal is to reshape the spatial layout of industries and accelerate high-quality development in the city.

In the "Double Ten Parks" plan, some or all parts of the Nanzhuang High-end Precision Manufacturing Industrial Park, the Digital Economy Innovation Cluster, the Meitao Bay Cultural and Creative Industry Cluster, and the Modern Insurance Industry Cluster settle in Chancheng Industry Park.

To promote the clustering and scale of emerging industries, the Chancheng Management Bureau of FHIDZ has established a coordinated investment mechanism focused on intelligent equipment manufacturing, new energy auto parts, next-generation electronic information, and innovative biomedicine. They have pursued investment opportunities in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen—progressing rapidly and making significant breakthroughs along the way.

The Nanzhuang High-end Precision Manufacturing Industrial Park has introduced 25 key projects with a total investment of 26 billion yuan, and housed 154 large-scale enterprises, including 80 national high-tech companies.

In the Digital Economy Innovation Cluster, 25 projects have been established with a total investment exceeding 5 billion yuan. The cluster features the construction of eight key parks, five national and provincial-level intelligent manufacturing demonstration enterprises (or projects), and five leading industrial internet demonstration projects.

The Meitao Bay Cultural and Creative Industry Cluster has attracted 14 key projects in its first phase, with a total investment of approximately 6 billion yuan. It has introduced 2,296 market entities, of which 748 are cultural and creative enterprises.

In the Modern Insurance Industry Cluster, 106 insurance institutions have been introduced, with 10 new financial projects launched in 2023 alone. The total investment has reached around 890 million yuan. One significant achievement is the establishment of Foshan’s first national insurance project, the Return Shipping Insurance of the Pacific Insurance in Chancheng District, which contributes approximately 60 million yuan in annual taxes. 

Notably, the Nanzhuang High-end Precision Manufacturing Industrial Park, which covers one tenth of the land in Chancheng District, has attracted top-tier companies, including Fortune 500 companies, state-owned enterprises, listed companies, and specialized "little giant" firms since construction began in July last year. This has gradually opened up innovative opportunities for the integrated development of industry, city, and people in Chancheng Industry Park.

“We are actively promoting the inclusion of the first phase of Nanzhuang Precision Manufacturing Industry Park into the management scope of Chancheng Industry Park, strengthening industrial, policy, resource, and innovation linkages between the park and the town. This will help address the current lack of carriers and grasp within the park,” an insider of Chancheng Industry Park told the reporter.

Sanshui Industry Park is the only "town-park integrated" zone within the five parks of FHIDZ. The leadership teams of the town and park jointly manage its development, planning, and industrial policies. Through the establishment of a joint decision-making and operational mechanism, the leadership ensures coordinated decision-making for town and park affairs, with staff focusing on different areas while collaborating efficiently.

In 2023, Sanshui Industry Park registered 248 enterprises under the Torch Program. The total industrial output of these registered companies reached 58.985 billion yuan, marking a year-on-year growth of 4.29%. The sales revenue of high-tech products amounted to 45.885 billion yuan, with an increase of 3.12%, while the number of patent applications for inventions reached 1,973, growing by 50.61% year-on-year.

Behind the figures are the warm and efficient public services provided in Sanshui Industry Park.

“Unlike other sibling parks that handle devolved powers at the district level, in our case, the relevant departments of Leping Town have fully taken over the powers devolved from the FHIDZ. We actively implemented reforms by offering to-do lists and making people well informed, with an effective approach to gain approvals, significantly enhancing the convenience and efficiency of public services,” said by Chen Zhaoyan, Deputy Director of the Sanshui Industry Park Management Bureau.

By integrating enterprise service resources and reconstructing the approval process, Sanshui Industry Park has created a comprehensive and one-stop enterprise service complex that supports the landing, construction, and operation of investment projects. In the first half of this year, Sanshui Park facilitated the completion of investments totaling 2.567 billion yuan across 17 provincial and municipal key projects, representing 64.82% of the annual investment plan.

Currently, all planning and administrative approval matters in the park can be processed entirely online. After submitting a planning application via the Guangdong Provincial Government Services website, the park strictly follows the approval process and timeline, ensuring timely and high-quality completion of each approval task. The park also tracks and manages any returned applications, offering full guidance throughout the process to ensure smooth project approval and construction, thereby providing strong support for enterprises.

"Dealing with Town (Park) Affairs  within Town (Park)" allows companies in Leping Town to enjoy the same resource guarantees and service benefits as those in Sanshui Industry Park. By offering green channels and proxy services, Sanshui Industry Park ensures that projects progress quickly through each stage, from signing contracts to starting construction.

For example, the Langsheng Medical Devices Headquarters Project, with a total investment of 1.2 billion yuan, took only 23 days from negotiation to signing.

The JD Bay Area Intelligent Manufacturing Industrial Park Project, one of Foshan’s major industrial investment projects, also benefited from personalized project management. Sanshui Industry Park assigned a dedicated project manager to customize the administrative approval process, establishing a service file for the project and assisting with materials preparation to streamline approvals, significantly reducing the burden on the enterprise. The park also provided door-to-door services to understand and resolve any issues in project construction. As a result, it took only 20 days from acquiring the land to starting construction.

In 2023, Sanshui Industry Park (Leping Park) processed a total of 424 approvals and issued 251 electronic certificates, including 91 construction planning permits for buildings, 37 construction planning permits for municipal projects, 64 certificates of compliance for construction planning conditions, and 59 construction engineering inspection certificates.

Gaoming Industry Park stands out for its efforts to deepen the reform of its management system, focusing on the full integration of the Cangjiang Industrial Park and Xijiang New City. By complementing and collaborating along the industrial chain, the park is establishing a district-level strategic development platform that fosters the synergy of industrial and urban development.

Additionally, to address issues such as long waiting time for approvals, heavy enterprise burdens, and slow project implementation in the environmental impact assessment (EIA) process, Gaoming Industry Park introduced a reform known as the "Regional EIA + List Management" model. This reform significantly reduces the burden on companies, improves approval efficiency, and accelerates project implementation. The model has been recognized as a reform experience worth promoting throughout Guangdong Province.

Relying on its four key industries—equipment manufacturing, light industrial products, health food, and optoelectronic lighting, Gaoming Industry Park has successfully attracted numerous well-known enterprises. 

In the health food sector, it has drawn significant players such as Haitian Flavoring & Food Co., the largest seasoning producer in China, and Hongying Nuts, a renowned domestic nut production base. In 2023, Haitian Flavoring reported an output value of 16 billion yuan. The intelligent manufacturing sector is home to prominent firms like CNIM Group, a globally recognized manufacturer of public transport equipment, CRRC Qingdao Sifang, a domestic leader in railway equipment manufacturing, and Honda Metal, a well-known base for precision light alloy component research and production.

Currently, Gaoming Industry Park in FHIDZ has attracted a total of 1,928 enterprises, marking a 7.83% year-on-year growth. Among these, 152 are industrial enterprises above a designated scale, and 107 are registered high-tech enterprises. In 2023, one company in the park achieved an output value exceeding 10 billion yuan, 29 surpassing 1 billion yuan, and 36 exceeding 100 million yuan.

FHIDZ has gone through five rounds of reform, with five sub-parks adapting to these changes. Breakthroughs have been made in areas such as service innovation, technological innovation, park development, government innovation, and institutional reform, all contributing to the significant transformation of FHIDZ.

Several pilot platforms have been put into operation. For instance, in the Chancheng Industry Park, the GRINM Guangdong Institute advanced battery R&D and evaluation platform became the first pilot platform recognized in Foshan, and it established China's first dry-process electrode test line for halide-based all-solid-state batteries. In the Nanhai Industry Park, a semiconductor micro-nano fabrication and a semoconductor material external research pilot platforms were officially launched by the Guangdong Institute of Micro-Nano Manufacturing Technology.

Breakthroughs have also been made in key core technologies. Five companies have been shortlisted for the National Science and Technology Award, and 11 projects, led or participated in by enterprises in FHIDZ, are expected to be included in Guangdong Province's Science and Technology Awards. Among them, Fozhixin Microelectronics participated in a project on key technologies and equipment for high-density packaging of electronic devices, which won the first prize in the Technical Invention Award.

Through five rounds of reforms and innovations, FHIDZ has established three leading industries: high-end equipment manufacturing, smart home, and new materials. It also features three key sectors: electronic cores, biomedicine and health, and productive services. Additionally, the zone is actively developing emerging industries such as robotics, additive manufacturing, new energy vehicles, hydrogen energy, and the industrial internet. The zone is now home to more than 10,000 manufacturing enterprises, with advanced manufacturing accounting for 50% of the city's total output. It boasts two locally-grown Fortune 500 companies and more than 5,400 high-tech enterprises.

Currently, the park boasts 23 national-level incubators, 20 maker spaces registered with the Ministry of Science and Technology, 28 national-level research institutions, 17 key laboratories at the provincial level or above, and 13 new R&D institutions at the provincial level or higher. FHIDZ has become a hotbed for innovation and entrepreneurship.

In 2023, FHIDZ achieved a regional GDP of 213.131 billion yuan, reflecting a growth of 6.20%. The total industrial output of enterprises above the designated size reached 731.466 billion yuan, growing by 6.40%. Registered enterprises in the zone recorded a total industrial output value of 460.646 billion yuan and a revenue of 571.827 billion yuan.

FHIDZ has strategically identified key focuses of development, accurately understanding the interconnectedness and synergy among the "One Zone, Five Parks". It has fostered mutual promotion and positive interaction, leading to a new chapter in the zone's development.