In recent years, "specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative" (SRDI) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have become an increasingly important component of China’s economic and social development. Fostering SRDI enterprises helps address China’s weaknesses in key sectors and effectively resolve bottlenecks in industrial development. Local governments across the country are also racking their brains to cultivate local SRDI enterprises.

On October 11, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) released the “Notice on Promoting Exemplary Local Practices in Supporting the Reform and Development of Private Enterprises” on its official website. The notice listed 72 exemplary practices, all of which originated from eight cities across the country: Qingdao, Chengdu, Changzhou, Wenzhou, Taizhou, Quanzhou, Foshan, and Jiangyin.

It is evident that none of these cities are megacities like Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou, and only one is a provincial capital. The selection of these eight cities as reference points naturally raises questions.

Eight Immortals Cross the Sea: Each Showing Their Own Skills

Robust Economic Momentum

Economic strength is one of the key indicators for assessing regional development, so let’s start by examining these cities from an economic perspective to see what sets them apart.

As shown in the table above, with the exception of Jiangyin—a county-level city under Wuxi that does not have a specific national ranking—the remaining seven cities all rank within the top 50. Moreover, most of them rank among the top three or hold relatively high positions within their respective provinces.

Although Jiangyin is a county-level city, it is one of the strongest county-level cities in China. This year, Jiangyin also secured the second spot on the list of China’s Top 100 County-Level Economies. This clearly demonstrates their robust momentum in economic development.

A Favorable Business Environment Equals Productivity

The business environment is the soil in which enterprises thrive. Only when the soil is fertile can seeds grow better and faster, eventually blossoming and bearing fruit. The same applies to enterprises: from nothing to something, from weak to strong, their growth relies not only on their own efforts and innovation but also on the strong support of the business environment and government departments.

Let’s take Jiangyin, the only county-level city among them, as an example.

In terms of improving policy services, Jiangyin has implemented its “New Business Package” smart approval system, achieving a fully automated approval process completed in just 0.5 hours. The average time required for the entire chain of procedures for new businesses is only 0.5 days, significantly reducing the time needed for business registration and, to a certain extent, enhancing business satisfaction.

In fostering corporate innovation and development, Jiangyin’s distinctive “Nobel Prize Zone” proactively aligns with global innovation systems. Top-tier teams, including Nobel laureates, can receive comprehensive support of up to 100 million yuan. This initiative has effectively driven explosive growth in Jiangyin’s biopharmaceutical industry.

The play is performed by people; the land is cultivated by people

Are there significant differences in the business environments between the north and south?

Qingdao is the only northern city among these eight. While it would be unwise to generalize, the data does reveal the gaps in business environments between the north and south.

According to the 2020 national ranking of urban business environments, Beijing undoubtedly tops the list of northern cities, with Xi’an and Qingdao ranking second and third, respectively. However, among the top 50 cities nationwide, only 12 are from the north, while 38 are from the south—three times as many as the north.

Some say, “Southern governments create business environments to cater to the market, while northern governments cater to the mayor.” This statement is somewhat exaggerated.

In reality, the differences in business environments between the north and south stem from multiple factors, including historical and cultural reasons, geographical factors, and issues within the government itself.

Currently, some northern cities still adhere to an industrial development model dominated by state-owned enterprises, which has not fully unleashed market vitality. At the same time, institutional and systemic reforms by the government have been relatively slow, making it difficult to effectively “create a business environment.” This results in low efficiency when private enterprises handle affairs at government service centers, often leading to situations where citizens must make multiple trips while the progress of their affairs moves at a “turtle’s pace.”

In contrast, many southern cities experienced rapid economic growth after the reform and opening-up by attracting a large number of foreign-invested enterprises, which also spurred the rapid development of private enterprises. This has required southern cities to devote greater effort to serving and nurturing businesses, improving administrative efficiency, and saving enterprises time and energy—thereby enhancing their innovation and productivity.

In recent years, northern cities have also recognized the importance of the business environment and have begun actively seeking innovation and change.

In recent years, a trend of “benchmarking against southern cities” has swept through many northern cities. “Studying policies, freeing up thinking, and taking concrete action” has become the daily routine for officials across the region, helping enterprises achieve breakthroughs in technological innovation, industrial development, and talent cultivation to drive growth.

For example, as is widely known, Qingdao benchmarks against Shenzhen, Jinan against Shanghai, and Xi’an against Chengdu... In many cases, municipal party secretaries personally lead delegations to study best practices, and following these visits, they propose the slogan “Compare, Learn, Catch Up, and Surpass”—signifying a commitment to learning from the best, competing with the strongest, and racing against the fastest.

Small cities can achieve great things!

As mentioned earlier, most of these eight cities are not the megacities or super-large cities we typically imagine, yet they have become national models due to their unique economic and business environment advantages.

They can also serve as inspiration for many small and medium-sized cities that are relatively weaker in terms of location, resources, and industrial environment.

If small and medium-sized cities blindly benchmark against first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, or Suzhou—which boast strong economies, high levels of openness, and complete industrial structures—they risk developing in a way that is akin to “pulling up seedlings to help them grow.”

These eight cities, lacking the “natural endowments” of major metropolises, have nevertheless carved out a new realm on the rugged path of “ordinary beginnings.”

By aligning their efforts with their actual development conditions and drawing on a pioneering and enterprising spirit of innovation, these cities have creatively summarized and proposed numerous exemplary practices to support the reform and development of private enterprises, achieving significant results in their practical work.

For example, Wenzhou has its own unique methods and strengths in building a close yet clean government-business relationship and strengthening communication between the government and enterprises.

By establishing the “Two Healths” government-business consultation mechanism and regularly convening “government-business roundtable meetings,” Wenzhou has created a working mechanism involving problem collection, periodic consultation, coordinated implementation, and dynamic feedback, establishing itself as a national model for “face-to-face” interactions between government leaders and private entrepreneurs.

Furthermore, by mobilizing over 100 business associations and more than 10,000 enterprises to evaluate government departments involved in business affairs, Wenzhou has received a cumulative total of 200,000 evaluations, with 20 of the related suggestions being incorporated into policy-making. It is precisely these policy resolutions, formulated through such processes, that truly meet the needs of enterprise development.

Conclusion

Enterprises are the primary drivers of economic development; by focusing our efforts on industries, enterprises, and entrepreneurs, we grasp the key to development.

Providing effective services means not only supporting the development of large enterprises but, more importantly, serving small and medium-sized private enterprises. We must ensure they genuinely feel the government’s concrete actions in caring for businesses, while also fostering a sense of fulfillment and strengthening their confidence in development. This will coalesce into a powerful driving force for promoting high-quality regional development.