As the final year of the 13th Five-Year Plan, 2020 is already one-third over, and the 14th Five-Year Plan period is fast approaching.

For industrial parks, the upcoming 14th Five-Year Plan period represents both a major challenge and a significant opportunity for development. Whether they can successfully rise from the ashes and reach new heights amid frequent “black swan” events, intense pressure for industrial transformation, and homogenized competition depends on the answers found within the 14th Five-Year Plan.

So, how should industrial parks formulate their 14th Five-Year Plans? What key points should they focus on?

In recent years, relevant national policies have served as important indicators:

In 2017, the State Council’s document “Several Opinions on Promoting Reform and Innovative Development of Development Zones” set forth clearer requirements for reform and innovation in development zones, including institutional reform, differentiation and integration, innovation-driven development, industrial optimization, open development, infrastructure construction, and PPP cooperation. This marked a clear direction for the further development and upgrading of development zones at the national level.

In 2019, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Promoting the Innovation and Upgrading of National-Level Economic and Technological Development Zones to Build New High Grounds for Reform and Opening-up" (hereinafter referred to as "State Council Document No. 11"), sounding the clarion call for the development of national-level economic and technological development zones in the new era.

It is evident that goal setting, industrial optimization, and investment promotion strategies will become the core elements of industrial park development. This article will explore these topics to provide guidance for leaders of industrial parks nationwide.

How Should Planning Goals Be Set?

In past investment promotion efforts, extensive practices such as “GDP-centric” approaches, competing on resources, and competing on policies were widespread, leading to poor results. The root cause lies in a deviation from the correct investment promotion philosophy. Looking ahead to the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the first step is to establish a correct investment promotion philosophy.

Integrity is the prerequisite for investment promotion. In this context, “sincerity” means that commitments and mutual agreements must align with actual needs and comply with legal requirements—they must not be exaggerated merely to attract enterprises; “trustworthiness” requires the timely fulfillment of these commitments to earn the confidence of investors.

Mao Zhenhua’s appeal in the snow, in which he lodged a complaint against the Yabuli Management Committee, serves as a classic example. Moreover, incidents of breach of trust in investment promotion occur frequently; the practice of “new officials ignoring past commitments” is a concrete manifestation of the lack of integrity in many industrial parks and a reflection of “short-sightedness.” This severely damages the image of industrial parks and causes significant harm to the local investment environment.

In 2016, the State Council issued the “Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Government Integrity,” requiring that “government integrity in the field of investment promotion be strengthened; policy commitments made in accordance with the law and all types of contracts and agreements signed must be earnestly fulfilled, and contracts must not be breached on the grounds of a change in government leadership or the replacement of relevant responsible personnel.” This move clearly demonstrates the profound importance attached to this issue at the national level.

Therefore, looking ahead to the 14th Five-Year Plan period, industrial parks must fundamentally shift their mindset to prioritize integrity and trustworthiness, ensuring that commitments made to investors are fulfilled in a timely manner.

Furthermore, it is essential to accurately assess local strengths and weaknesses and adapt investment promotion efforts to keep pace with the times. This necessitates conducting a SWOT analysis of the industrial park. For instance, when external factors such as location, transportation, and natural resources are difficult to alter, industrial parks can focus on internal improvements to create an excellent business environment and win the favor of enterprises through high-quality investment promotion services.

After analyzing the above, the formulation of strategic objectives can begin. This is a pivotal top-level task in the industrial park’s 14th Five-Year Plan, characterized by both high importance and significant complexity. It requires a thorough analysis of the strategic environment both within and outside the industrial park, as well as multiple rounds of communication among park leaders and various departments to finalize. Once established, these strategic objectives will serve as the common goal toward which everyone strives, guiding the direction of future development.

From a temporal perspective, strategic objectives include long-term goals (vision and mission), medium-term goals (annual targets for 2021–2025), and short-term goals. From a content perspective, each department must draft its own plan. Departments must engage in deep reflection to propose their five-year plans or strategic directions, clearly defining detailed frameworks, specific initiatives, and work tasks. It is important to leave room for flexibility to avoid creating obstacles for future development.

How should industrial positioning be upgraded?

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, the dominant industries in many industrial parks remained low-value-added, labor-intensive manufacturing and low-end logistics and warehousing. With their growth potential increasingly limited, these sectors have become targets for phased-out restructuring by local governments.

The pandemic in early 2020 further accelerated the process of industrial “reshuffling.” Many industrial parks saw their traditional leading industries decline rapidly, or even collapse completely, leading to a significant increase in vacancy rates and difficulties in attracting investment, while the pressure to transform and upgrade has multiplied.

At the same time, strategically emerging industries strongly supported by the state have experienced rapid growth. New-generation information technology, high-end manufacturing, biotechnology, green and low-carbon industries, and digital creative industries are likely to become five 10-trillion-yuan-scale sectors. It is projected that by 2020, the value added by strategic emerging industries will account for 15% of China’s GDP.

However, most industrial parks lack a thorough understanding of industrial transformation and upgrading, have insufficient knowledge of the new economy, and do not place enough emphasis on supporting services. Coupled with outdated investment promotion philosophies, this has resulted in the improvement of the investment environment and the professionalization of investment promotion efforts failing to keep pace with industrial transformation.

Industrial parks must also avoid “broad yet vague” industrial positioning, as reality is “harsh”—homogeneous competition makes it difficult to implement “ambitious plans.” The direction of upgrading a park’s leading industries must undergo systematic research and validation; otherwise, it is akin to “looking for fish on a tree.” Furthermore, a lack of detailed industrial positioning leads to severe homogenization. Typically, industrial parks collaborate with professional consulting firms to formulate industrial plans.

Professional firms, such as Guchuan Lianhang, typically conduct industrial research and assessments for parks. Common evaluation models include two dimensions: industry attractiveness (e.g., market conditions, external environment, competitive landscape) and local resource capabilities (location and transportation, resource endowments, industrial foundation). These are used to analyze an industry’s prospects and its compatibility with the park.

Based on this, target industries are scientifically screened. By combining industry development trends with the national catalog of encouraged industries, several key industries for future development are identified, ultimately forming the industrial positioning of the park—that is, the direction for future investment promotion.

At the same time, spatial layout should be systematically planned based on the industrial park’s actual land availability, taking into account the specific development needs of each industry, control plan requirements, environmental protection standards, and considerations for industry-city integration, to ensure the sustainable development of the industrial park.

How Can Investment Promotion Models Be Innovated?

In the new development context, “professionalization” has become the most critical concept in investment promotion. Document No. 11 of the State Council explicitly states: “Support national-level economic and technological development zones in conducting investment promotion services in accordance with market-oriented principles,” thereby encouraging investment promotion efforts to follow a market-oriented and professionalized path.

Therefore, looking ahead to the 14th Five-Year Plan period, industrial parks should no longer rely on simplistic, extensive approaches such as “mass investment promotion.” Instead, they should shift their focus toward collaborating with investment promotion agencies to drive the innovation and upgrading of investment promotion efforts from a professional, systematic, and market-oriented perspective.

It is believed that while most industrial parks gained an understanding of market-oriented investment promotion during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, implementation was not realized due to various reasons. The upcoming 14th Five-Year Plan presents an excellent opportunity to foster broader cooperation between industrial parks and market-oriented investment promotion agencies, enabling them to achieve innovative breakthroughs in the next five years.

An ideal investment promotion partnership should include: professional investment promotion agencies, which provide agency services for industrial parks; higher-level government departments, which share information with industrial parks and assist in investment promotion; and industry associations and leading enterprises, which recommend outstanding companies and projects within the industry to the development zones.

To identify suitable partners, industrial parks should analyze the strengths and weaknesses of different types of third-party organizations and then shortlist 2–3 candidates based on their initial positioning.

Third-party organizations frequently encountered by government investment promotion staff include:

(1) Accounting/Law Firms

Advantages: Due to the nature of their work, staff at these firms frequently communicate with corporate executives and can access investment information regarding large enterprises;

Disadvantages: Their primary business is not investment promotion; they often sign confidentiality agreements with companies and are reluctant to cooperate with the government;

(2) Chambers of Commerce and Associations

Advantages: These organizations possess a certain level of cohesion, enabling them to bring together large numbers of entrepreneurs, which facilitates centralized investment promotion activities;

Disadvantages: Membership is fixed, making it difficult to confirm whether members have investment intentions;

(3) Individual Investment Promotion

Advantages: Leverage personal capabilities and strong professional networks to attract investment;

Disadvantages: Limited manpower and project information;

(4) Investment Promotion Service Companies

Advantages: Investment promotion is their core business, offering reliability in terms of expertise and project information;

Disadvantages: Requires careful research and screening in the early stages;

By comparing the strengths and weaknesses of these third-party agencies against your positioning criteria, you can quickly identify those that align with your needs.

Conclusion

Currently, the global economy is facing a once-in-a-century transformation. If industrial parks can leverage the current environment to build unique competitive barriers and capitalize on industrial development opportunities, this transformation presents a prime opportunity to gain a competitive edge.

Therefore, formulating a robust "14th Five-Year Plan" is the top priority at present. As a professional investment promotion service provider, Guchuan United offers "14th Five-Year Plan" investment promotion planning services. Scan the QR code below to learn more about our services.