Investment promotion is a key driver of regional economic development.

Whether it is driving industrial development, increasing tax revenue, or creating jobs, investment promotion has played an indispensable role.

Over the years, investment promotion has also undergone a series of iterations.

The earliest form of investment promotion (Version 1.0) was essentially network-based, relying on clan ties and personal connections, and was largely confined to small-scale internal movements.

Local governments truly stepped onto the historical stage of investment promotion following the establishment of a series of development zones after the reform and opening-up policy; the four Special Economic Zones—Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, and Xiamen—are the most prominent examples.

However, with little prior experience to draw upon, the process began with an experimental effort to attract Hong Kong capital to Shenzhen.

Through the “three types of processing and one form of compensation” (processing with supplied materials, assembly with supplied parts, processing with supplied samples, and compensation trade), Shenzhen leveraged its relatively cheap labor resources and favorable open-door policies to attract Hong Kong’s abundant capital, technology, talent, and management expertise.

At that time, the planning, design, and marketing of many products were completed in Hong Kong, while manufacturing took place in Shenzhen, forming the classic “front shop, back factory” model.

In the late 1980s, the mainland introduced policies and regulations to encourage investment by Taiwanese businesses. Seeing the opportunity presented by the mainland’s rapid economic development, Taiwanese businesses accelerated their investment in the mainland (Version 2.0).

According to statistics, in the 1980s alone, Taiwanese investment in Fujian exceeded $10 billion.

However, what truly propelled foreign investment to new heights was the massive influx of foreign capital following China’s accession to the WTO (Version 3.0).

Estimates indicate that from 1995 to 2013, foreign investment contributed approximately 16% to 34% to China’s GDP and 11% to 29% to employment. Localities actively leveraged infrastructure, supporting facilities, and preferential policies to attract FDI (foreign direct investment), creating miracles in regional economic development.

Particularly following the 1998 housing reform and the 2002 implementation of the land auction, bidding, and listing system, development zones and local governments began relying on preferential policies to attract investment (Version 4.0). It was only after the fervor of the “city-building” campaign gradually subsided that investment promotion truly returned to a competition based on local core competitiveness (Version 5.0).

After all, production costs, market conditions, and the availability of talent all influence corporate decision-making. If the approach is simply to “hand out money,” the withdrawal of incentives will inevitably lead to companies relocating. Since then, local governments have increasingly prioritized the business environment and long-term planning.

After years of development, industrial and supply chains in regions such as the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta have become increasingly mature, gradually emerging as unique advantages for attracting investment.

Subsequently, in their five-year plans and three-year action plans, local governments have shifted their focus to industry-chain-based investment promotion, drafting industrial plans and mapping out investment promotion roadmaps (Version 6.0). Some provincial leaders have even taken the lead in implementing a “chain leader system” for industrial chains.

In 2014, government-guided funds proliferated nationwide. In particular, the approach of using a 10% government seed fund to leverage 90% of idle social capital—known as "capital-driven investment attraction " (Version 7.0)— gained widespread popularity.

Hefei has charged ahead on the path of capital-driven investment by investing in BOE through private placements, partnering with strategic investors to bring in Changxin, and investing in NIO through a special fund, earning it the title of “the strongest investment institution.”

On May 19, 2023, the Shanghai-Chongqing-Sichuan Investment Cooperation Promotion Conference was successfully held in Chengdu.

As the “elder brother” of China’s industrial sector, Shanghai has for many years primarily absorbed industrial transfers from developed regions, driving the transformation and upgrading of the nation’s manufacturing sector through industrial gradient transfer. This “westward journey” has broken with long-standing industry consensus, pioneering the “reverse investment promotion” (Version 8.0).

Over the past 40 years, local governments’ investment promotion efforts have undergone eight iterations.

However, amid pressures such as shrinking demand, supply shocks, and weakening expectations, traditional investment promotion strategies must now be re-evaluated in this new landscape.

While new-style investment promotion may be innovative in form, ideology, and mechanisms, its essence remains the need to integrate with the existing industrial ecosystem—both safeguarding the “core foundation” and identifying “opportunities” amidst change.

From the perspective of systems and mechanisms, the new breakthrough lies in “marketization.”

This is because industrial development is not merely a unilateral action by government economic departments; it is also a self-driven need for relevant enterprises to adjust their production and business plans in response to changing economic conditions.

This is also one of the reasons why development zones across the country are actively promoting the “Management Committee + Company” model reform.

After all, with years of urban management experience, local governments have thrived in an urbanization process dominated by the real estate sector. However, as the marginal utility of preferential policies diminishes, investment promotion must inevitably undergo further transformation.

Especially in the current complex landscape—where traditional industries are relocating to Southeast Asia, domestic mid-to-high-end industrial upgrades remain incomplete, and declining birth rates and insufficient domestic demand persist—adjustments must be made to everything from industrial chains to business models to adapt to the changing times.

Therefore, if past investment promotion was likened to “the government setting the stage while enterprises put on the show,” today it is more akin to the government and enterprises “co-creating and co-directing” the performance.

The most vivid example is that, to attract a leading enterprise, local governments often tailor policies and services specifically to its needs. This process of continuous negotiation and collaboration will inevitably drive the professionalization of local investment promotion efforts and promote the ongoing optimization of the business environment.

Similarly, the survival pressures faced by a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the current economic climate will also drive local governments to continuously improve their enterprise services and industrial incubation efforts.

As a market-oriented investment promotion agency, GuChuan United is playing the role of a “think tank” and “external partner,” actively participating in the iterative upgrading of investment promotion efforts.

We are not only one of the hundreds of millions of market entities nationwide—contributing tax revenue and creating jobs for local communities—but we also leverage our 14 years of experience in investment promotion and corporate site selection to contribute to the broader goal of high-quality regional economic development.

On one hand, we provide industrial consulting services, assisting in the formulation of industrial positioning plans, mapping out industrial investment attraction roadmaps, and optimizing the design of industrial park facilities. Through on-site research and analysis, we provide decision-making basis and strategic guidance for senior leadership;

On the other hand, we have established a presence in 19 cities across the country, with each region featuring a localized investment promotion team rich in practical experience. We assist investment promoters in precisely matching target enterprises and help enterprises conduct scientific evaluations based on both short-term interests and long-term development, ensuring that high-quality projects move from “paper” to “reality.”

This is underpinned by a robust database of over 960,000 project resources (consisting of genuine investment intentions gathered online, rather than mere business registration data) and represents years of continuous accumulation and iterative upgrades in investment promotion big data and industrial chain systems.

To date, Guchuan United has maintained deep partnerships with over 100 government agencies and industrial parks across China, becoming a key partner for local governments, industrial parks, and state-owned platform companies in implementing targeted investment promotion and driving industrial development.

Consequently, investment promotion has moved beyond a solitary effort into an era of collaboration, shifting from “unidirectional exertion” to “two-way interaction.” Governments and enterprises now fulfill their respective roles while forming a “community of shared interests” through cooperation.

This approach of shared risk and mutual benefit facilitates the horizontal expansion and in-depth development of investment promotion. As boundaries continue to blur, investment promotion will undergo further evolution toward regionalization and specialization.

As localities vigorously promote investment attraction, we hope to seize this opportunity to connect and discuss potential collaborations with you, contributing the “Guchuan strength” to the regional economy through professional and efficient services.

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