"China's ETDZs have become the backbone of the country's economic growth and a leading force in opening up to the world. Last year, foreign investment to ETDZs accounted for nearly one fifth of the total foreign investment in China and the GDP generated by those ETDZs accounted for one eighth of the national total," said Vice Premier Wang.

Gao Hucheng, Chinese Minister of Commerce, said national-level ETDZs are spearheading China's economic growth in many ways.

"They are leading the country in attracting foreign investment, in creating industrial clusters, in technological innovation, in green development and in realizing more balanced development between different regions," Gao said.

Zeng Xiwen, Vice President of Unilever North Asia, said that in China, a great number of feasible reform measures were issued after carrying out pilot reforms in ETDZs.

"More importantly, ETDZs have fostered an array of people who possess the mindset for reform," Zeng said.

Time to change

Vice Premier Wang said China still attaches great importance to foreign investment, but the focus has now changed.

"Although China now has sufficient investment, we will never overlook the function of foreign capital. In the future, instead of simply attracting investment, China will pay more attention to the introduction of advanced technologies, management experiences and a global talent pool," Wang said.

Yang Zhiping, Chairman of the Administrative Committee of Suzhou ETDZ, said innovation is the key to ETDZs' future development, including institutional innovation, technological innovation and innovation in government administration.

According to Yang, the population of the Suzhou ETDZ has reached 1 million, which requires the region to change in at least three aspects.

"First, the growth pattern should be changed from pure processing to high-end manufacturing. Second, a transformation in social management is needed. Among the 1-million population in Suzhou ETDZ, 600,000 people are migrant workers. The issue of how to provide jobs for so many people and how to manage a society with so much mobility is a tough one. Finally, administrative committees of ETDZs should offer more efficient and more convenient services to enterprises, accept supervision from the general public and make scientific decisions," Yang said.

Yang also said ETDZs should become more selective when choosing investment projects.

"When ETDZs were first established, they were willing to attract foreign investment from any available source. But now, things have changed. Most ETDZs prefer higher value-added businesses instead of processing factories. Meanwhile, ETDZs are trying to foster local firms to create a healthier business environment," said Yang at a sideline of the 18th CIFIT.

When evaluating potential investors, the investment value shouldn't be the only important index, Yang said.

"The matter of whether or not the investment projects are in line with China's laws and regulations, industrial policies and environmental requirements needs careful assessment. ETDZs should also factor in whether business headquarters and research and development teams will be established in ETDZs," Yang suggested.

National-level ETDZs have upheld the principle of "creating top-notch investment environment with international standards," said Clement Hung, Chairman of Deloitte China. He maintained China could learn from other countries' experiences in building industrial parks.

"First, diversified sponsors can promote rapid development of industrial parks. In developed countries like the United States and Europe, ETDZs are mainly created by the market, while in China, national ETDZs are mainly constructed with government funds. Second, a more diversified management team can improve the efficiency of the investment environment. China's ETDZs are usually managed by an administrative committee, while in foreign countries, there are several different ways to manage an industrial park, such as being led by research teams from universities or being jointly managed by the government, the market and society. China should explore more ways to better manage ETDZs," said Hung during the 18th CIFIT.

Xu said some ETDZs continue to rampantly expand their territory and use low-cost advantage to woo investors. "Some even fight each other on preferential policies and government subsidies," Xu said.

"That kind of development model can't be sustained. ETDZs should encourage businesses to upgrade their production technologies with the end goal of realizing greener and higher value-added production," Xu said.

(Reporting from Xiamen, Fujian Province)

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