I thought that once I crossed mountains and seas, I would finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

In reality, with the policy easing, I ended up catching COVID.

The original plan was to seize the “tail end” and wrap things up perfectly. In reality, we’ve been “waiting to get sick” at work and “working while sick.”

High-speed trains and flights have resumed; production and office work have returned to normal; corporate plans and strategies are taking shape...

Yet, the “special period” has largely been overtaken by circumstances, far exceeding my expectations.

The tougher it gets, the more we return to the essentials: reviewing records and re-evaluating projects.

As the year draws to a close, I just want to say: Treat others with sincerity to attract good business partners.

Investment Promotion in the Northwest: A Newcomer’s Journey

Exactly one year ago today, I was assigned to the vast Northwest, embarking on the winding “journey of investment promotion.”

When you think of the Northwest, what comes to mind?

Biting cold winds, endless yellow sand, and bulky clothing—this is the Northwest’s unique “romance.”

Short traditional industrial chains and low-tier products, coupled with emerging industries that started late and remain small in scale, along with a scattered overall corporate layout and inefficient resource allocation, all hinder the economic development of the Northwest.

I must admit, when I’m passionately promoting industrial parks in the Northwest, I look just like a salesperson.

However, a single investment promotion trip to the Northwest is worth ten contract signings.

Every hurdle is surmountable; the road ahead is long but bright.

At 35, I’ve been working in investment promotion for seven years. This year, my transfer to the Northwest for investment promotion came at the so-called “seven-year itch.”

When I first arrived, I fully believed that “remote location” was a valid reason for failing to attract investment.

Small towns don’t have good projects, so naturally, they don’t have many staff members. The investment promotion bureau here has one conference room and three offices, a bureau director, an accountant, and a 12-person investment promotion team.

On that massive desk, aside from a computer and a landline, almost every inch was covered with various documents and materials.

These documents and materials included not only draft investment contracts and investment policies, but also monthly summaries of investment promotion progress, as well as a considerable number of project feasibility reports.

As usual, most members of the investment promotion team were not in the office. Instead, they were out in the field liaising with potential investors, relying on WeChat for internal communication.

For economically underdeveloped inland regions, it is difficult for investment firms from other provinces to understand the local investment environment without a referral. Furthermore, as the saying goes, “Look south for the environment, look north for policies,” many companies come here “solely” to secure policy and resource support.

For two full months, I went to great lengths to track down a rubber manufacturing and processing company relocating from Beijing, yet it failed to pique my superiors’ interest.

Although this was a project resulting from Beijing’s “making room for new industries” initiative and was of considerable scale, it would struggle to generate a ripple effect locally. Moreover, if it involved water pollution, such a project would be outright rejected.

Even if the Investment Promotion Bureau were willing, the environmental protection department would never approve it. For the Northwest, the days of “haphazard investment promotion” are long gone.

Accurately Gauging Corporate Needs

Nationally speaking, the Northwest ranks in the middle to lower tier in terms of investment attraction. However, natural resources are its core competitive advantage. It is precisely these resources that lay a solid foundation for project implementation.

In addition to crops, rare medicinal herbs are cultivated on a large scale in the Northwest. This indicates that the region is well-suited for industries focused on deep processing and functional foods.

Cost is the primary driver of productivity, and the region holds a significant advantage, particularly in terms of steam pricing and supply.

So, after reviewing the database of key enterprises, I flagged a few companies. I’ve already had brief exchanges with several of them via WeChat.

This time, however, my attention has turned to new energy companies.

When it comes to new energy, mineral resources are indispensable—silica sand and quartz sand are raw materials required by these booming industries. For instance, polysilicon and industrial silicon both rely on silica sand as a raw material for production.

When discussing available resources, the picture remains vague. It’s unclear how much the local area has, how much can be utilized, and what returns such use might yield.

In reality, the issue is that resources haven’t been fully leveraged in industrial planning, which has led to relatively slow industrial development during the subsequent investment promotion process.

Over time, I’ve observed that industrial parks in Northwest China have a clear understanding of which companies have settled there, what products they manufacture, and what their needs are. However, few take the time to systematically identify the challenges and pain points faced by these enterprises and then tailor investment promotion strategies to address them by leveraging the companies’ strengths and specific requirements.

By chance, I came into contact with a company specializing in cathode materials—specifically, a lithium iron phosphate energy storage battery production project—that was considering a location in the Northwest.

To secure this project, I embarked on a 15-day series of visits and research. Excluding WeChat communications, I made over 50 phone calls with the company, and fortunately, we established a certain level of trust.

I had only two objectives:

To promote the investment environment and find a lead partner for the project.

Hard work pays off—I found an automobile manufacturer. I learned that the battery’s core components were sourced from Chongqing, so the transportation costs were predictably high. Additionally, given the industry’s low profit margins, production capacity could never reach full utilization without addressing the root cause.

For this battery production project, the company’s primary consideration in site selection was the supply chain. After multiple discussions, the ideal scenario would be to supply batteries directly to the vehicle manufacturer nearby.

Furthermore, while other policies may be negotiable, energy consumption quotas are non-negotiable. Wherever energy consumption quotas are available, that is where the project will go.

Consequently, as long as we facilitate cooperation between the vehicle manufacturer and the battery producer, the project’s success becomes much more assured.

As for the Northwest region, even if it lacks the conditions to attract leading enterprises in the short term, if it can resolve the challenges faced by existing companies and cultivate them as anchor enterprises within the supply chain, this would still blaze a new trail for investment promotion.

Another key requirement for attracting enterprises is close integration with the local industrial chain. Just as a tree needs a forest to provide an ecosystem in order to thrive,

If the local area has upstream and downstream partners for the enterprise, then proximity to these partners is a business requirement for the project. However, if the local area lacks such partners, the local government hopes that the enterprise will bring them in after establishing operations.

This is a well-intentioned hope on the part of the government, but why would a company do this?

Indeed, some enterprises have high policy expectations and place great emphasis on location. Given the nature of their industries, the likelihood of them choosing a site in Northwest China is very low.

Furthermore, the compatibility of supporting factory facilities is low, and the floor area per level is too small. Unless projects in sectors like electronics and information technology are established, these facilities will essentially remain idle. This reflects a lack of precise positioning and insufficient in-depth research and analysis of the industry.

The government needs to provide sufficient incentives—primarily in terms of land, funding, orders, and supporting infrastructure—to attract companies not only to establish operations themselves but also to bring their upstream and downstream partners to the local area.

A Double Challenge: Treating Each Other with Genuine Sincerity

When attracting investment in the Northwest, companies can be particularly elusive, but investment promotion has always been about one thing: exchanging sincerity for sincerity, and building trust through genuine connection.

By “sincere,” I mean being available 365 days a year, traveling far and wide without complaint, and adapting to local conditions while adhering to national policies.

This year, many business representatives have confided in me: some localities are too “short-sighted,” lack “big-picture thinking,” and lack a mindset for “long-term investment.”

Over the years, within China’s current system, businesses have remained willing to trust the government.

However, some localities still brush off requests with excuses like “we’re still going through the process,” “leadership needs to hold a meeting to discuss it,” or “we’re currently focused on prioritizing other matters and can’t spare the resources to follow through.”

What should be the city’s “trump card” has instead become a “stain on its reputation.”

As is well known, manufacturing enterprises all face the challenge of treating “three wastes” (wastewater, waste gas, and solid waste). If there is only one relevant environmental protection company in the area, its limited processing capacity can prevent enterprises from treating these wastes in compliance with regulations.

Yet local environmental authorities issue penalty notices citing the failure to process these wastes in a timely and compliant manner.

A locally established enterprise might have the connections and resources to resolve such issues. However, an enterprise that has relocated from elsewhere, facing a lack of professional services, often finds itself helpless and may even consider withdrawing.

Policies are transmitted from the top down. Sometimes, when policies at higher levels change, local policies must follow suit. For example, if certain special subsidies from higher authorities are discontinued, local governments naturally have no way to fund them.

Local authorities only disclose this information when enterprises come to claim these subsidies. Although the excuse is that central policies have changed, local authorities should have anticipated such changes and promptly reminded enterprises to apply in advance.

Apart from constant change, nothing remains constant. When central policies are in place but local authorities lack effective implementation strategies—such “inactive” local governments—enterprises will feel insecure when establishing operations.

At the beginning and end of the year, I revise contracts, coordinate with the investment promotion team, host business delegates, and submit investment projects to higher-level supervisors. In addition to these tasks, the Investment Promotion Bureau also handles matters related to poverty alleviation.

2022 is destined to be an extraordinary year. But no matter how difficult it gets, I remain resolute and will not give up, striving to write my own “report card.”

Conclusion

All that has passed is merely a prelude;

and every path we take is worth the journey.

Some projects hold you back while also helping you grow.

Some challenges help you see things clearly while also helping you let go.

Whether in the ups and downs of investment promotion, the journey is long and the task is heavy.

Everything has two sides; focus on the best one.