The boom in county-level tourism has revealed the development potential of many counties.

However, beyond the competition in the tourism sector, a quiet battle for investment is also underway.

Compared to prefecture-level cities, counties lack a certain level of competitiveness and appeal in terms of location, resources, and supporting infrastructure.

Faced with these challenges, how can they break through?

The regions with the most insight into this matter are the strong provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang—which have produced numerous "Top 100 Counties"—as well as the "100-billion-yuan counties" across the country. The secrets to the economic development of county-level areas lie within their experiences.

This article analyzes investment promotion cases from these Top 100 and 100-billion-yuan counties, summarizing their experiences in the hope that they will be helpful to everyone.

01 Attract What You Have

In terms of indicators such as the industrial environment and logistics costs, county-level regions lag behind central cities.

Pursuing high-tech industries is often nothing more than a one-sided pipe dream. While these industries are highly attractive, they will struggle to truly take root and thrive if they do not align with the actual resource conditions of the county.

The resources and capabilities of county-level economies are limited; they cannot blindly pursue “high-tech, high-end, and cutting-edge” industries. Industrial planning must be grounded in existing industrial foundations and future development potential.

This requires shifting away from the outdated mindset of “recruiting whatever the region lacks” toward a new approach of “recruiting based on what the region already has.”

Specifically, this requires conducting thorough research on local development conditions to clearly identify the region’s resource endowments, comparative advantages, and competitive strengths.

These resources may include advantages in land prices, abundant natural resources such as hydropower and minerals, a favorable geographical location, or traditional strengths in a specific industry. Identifying these strengths will provide a solid foundation for county-level investment promotion.

Once we have clarified “what we have,” the next step is to consider the questions: “What can we attract, and how should we go about it?”

Based on the county’s unique characteristics, define its industrial positioning to identify enterprises and projects that can be successfully attracted, retained, and developed.

By following this approach, county-level regions can attract investors in a targeted manner and build their own competitive industries.

Once the leading industry is established, it will naturally attract the clustering of related supporting industries, forming a virtuous industrial chain.

In the past, theories such as locational determinism and resource constraints hindered the development of many counties. Today, these outdated notions are being challenged, and many small counties are beginning to create local competitive industries from scratch.

Take Yongkang County in Zhejiang Province, for example. Although this region originally lacked abundant mineral resources, it has nurtured a world-class hardware industry cluster.

Rather than being constrained by limited local resources, they actively “borrowed” resources from across the country. Driven by their tenacity, pioneering spirit, and dedication, they “created something out of nothing” to develop into the core area of the Yongwu-Jin Hardware Industry Cluster—one of China’s top 100 industrial clusters.

Today, the region is home to 46,000 enterprises, including 1,025 industrial enterprises above designated size. From the China Science and Technology Hardware City, tens of thousands of products are distributed across the country and to more than 170 countries and regions worldwide, earning it the title of “Hardware Capital”—a testament to its formidable strength.

Therefore, county-level regions must break free from the constraints of conventional thinking, adhere to the strategy of “strengthening existing industries and creating new ones from scratch,” actively fill gaps in industrial chains, and develop new growth sectors.

02 Target Distinctive Industries and Focus on Key Investment Attraction

Given their limited scale and capacity, it is clearly unrealistic for county-level regions to try to be “all-rounders” and achieve success across every industry.

Every county possesses unique resources and strengths; the key lies in how to identify and amplify these characteristics, transforming them into powerful engines driving the county’s economic development.

Some counties possess “innate” resource advantages, such as Shenmu in Shaanxi and Zunyi Banner in Inner Mongolia, which are rich in coal resources;

while others rely on unique geographical environments and climatic conditions to foster distinctive pillar industries, such as the baijiu industry in Renhuai, Guizhou.

These counties have firmly grasped their “trump cards,” transforming resource advantages into economic strengths and paving the way for county-level economic development.

Of course, not every county possesses significant resource advantages. For those counties without distinct resource characteristics, how should they find a breakthrough?

In such cases, a shift in perspective is needed to identify unique strengths from the perspectives of the market and industry.

For instance, coastal counties can leverage their geographical location and market advantages to develop an export-oriented economy and attract foreign investment. For example, Kunshan in Jiangsu and Jinjiang in Fujian have maximized these two strengths, becoming popular destinations for foreign investment.

Furthermore, building distinctive features through industrial clusters to form an industrial landscape characterized by “one county, one product” or “one county, one industry” is also an effective approach.

For instance, Haining in Zhejiang, renowned as a textile town, has developed a home textile industry dominated by mid-to-high-end products, featuring a complete industrial chain spanning manufacturing, finishing, and marketing, with nearly 8,000 market entities in the apparel sector;

Another example is Jinjiang, Fujian, known as the “Shoe Capital of China,” which hosts nearly 7,000 shoe manufacturers and supporting enterprises, with an industrial chain valued at over 100 billion yuan.

By deepening their industrial chains, these counties have not only enhanced their industrial competitiveness but also formed distinctive industrial clusters.

In Jiangsu, such examples are also abundant.

For instance, the apparel industry cluster in Changshu City, the wind power industry cluster in Funing County, and the eyewear industry cluster in Danyang City have all become important pillars of the local economy.

Of course, when attracting investment around specialty industries, it is essential to fully consider the local industrial foundation and ensure that new projects are closely integrated with existing industrial strengths.

This approach not only reduces the costs of project implementation but also accelerates project growth and profitability.

For instance, the Longkou Yulong Island Integrated Refining and Petrochemical Project in Shandong and the Haier Central Air Conditioning facility in Jiaozhou are both examples of industrial chain extension. Only through targeted, precise investment promotion can one achieve twice the result with half the effort.

03 Leveraging Internet Tools to Facilitate Project Implementation

In traditional investment promotion models, it is common to see government officials and chamber of commerce representatives actively engaged in various activities, seeking out potential investors.

However, this approach often leads us to first engage with government officials and business associations at various levels, rather than the actual clients.

Where exactly are the real investment targets? Investment promoters often don’t know. In many cases, promoters are in a passive position, and by the time substantive negotiations begin, they may face numerous uncertainties.

So, how can we accurately identify the right targets and drive project implementation?

The answer lies in “associated entities.” By analyzing “associated entities,” we can uncover clues hidden within the data and directly reach target clients.

In the era of the internet and big data, we can analyze industry trends and corporate investment patterns to map out a network of associated resources for target enterprises.

This map acts like a treasure map, guiding us to identify leading enterprises with substantial investment capital, sound industrial foundations, high technological content, and broad market prospects.

Imagine using big data analysis to gain a comprehensive understanding of market dynamics, identify target enterprises that align closely with local resources, and then achieve effective project matching through intelligently recommended optimal pathways.

This targeted investment promotion not only enhances efficiency but also significantly increases the likelihood of project implementation.

Take GuChuan United as an example: leveraging its investment promotion service network spanning 18 cities nationwide and utilizing the “Internet + Big Data + Investment Promotion” channel, the firm conducts in-depth analysis and research on over 117,000 project entries. Simultaneously, it thoroughly analyzes companies’ investment intentions, development plans, and key priorities.

This approach not only identifies priority investment regions but also provides insights into companies’ investment intentions and development blueprints.

To date, Guchuan United has provided investment promotion services to over 100 governments and successfully facilitated the implementation of more than 8,300 projects.

Attracting investment is not merely a competition for resources; it requires rational and effective strategies to precisely target high-quality projects that can truly drive local industrial upgrading.

Only in this way can we stand out in the fierce competition and inject strong momentum into the county economy.