Enhancing Competence: Jiangsu Officials Strengthen Entrepreneurial Skills in an Open Environment

Jiangsu Officials Continuously Hone Their Skills for Entrepreneurship in an Open Environment

As the party and national undertakings progress, the demands on the capabilities of leadership officials continue to increase. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that officials at all levels must enhance their ability to think critically, make decisions, and execute tasks in an open environment.

Since the beginning of this year, in response to the evolving complexities of the international landscape, officials at various levels across the province have faced challenges head-on and taken initiative. Through multi-tiered collaboration, specialized task forces, and professional services, they have assisted foreign trade enterprises in effectively leveraging both domestic and international markets and resources, continuously expanding their development space, and maintaining a steady course for high-quality development amidst challenges. The province has further deepened the implementation of the provincial party committee’s “20 measures” to encourage responsibility, driving stronger motivation and vitality among officials to engage in entrepreneurship in an open environment, thereby taking on the responsibilities of being an economic powerhouse.

Collaborative Task Forces: Mobilizing Elite Talent to Overcome Challenges

“Thanks to the support from the task force, we have officially opened up the domestic market, received production orders, and are simultaneously exploring more new markets,” said a representative from Kunshan Yixin Motor Technology Co., Ltd., after successfully obtaining the China Compulsory Certificate (CCC certification) on May 19—just two weeks after the application was submitted. Traditionally, this process would take at least one to two months.

In the face of a complex and severe international situation, the domestic market serves as a strong backbone for foreign trade enterprises. However, shifting from export to domestic sales is not merely a straightforward transition; companies often encounter challenges such as unfamiliarity with market access, sales, and settlement regulations, making it difficult to secure orders. During such critical times, specialized “guides” are essential.

Since April of this year, Suzhou, a key hub for foreign trade, has established a round-the-clock task force to stabilize foreign trade, creating a collaborative mechanism led by city leaders and involving multiple departments. To leverage the advantages of officials in policy interpretation, resource integration, and government-enterprise communication, the task force has assembled 43 skilled professionals from 24 different units, including development and reform and industrial and information departments, to work on-site. Additionally, corresponding task forces have been established in various county-level cities and districts, providing “one-on-one” services to 1,660 key enterprises, developing individual profiles for each, and addressing 641 company requests with a completion rate of 95.2%. All levels of officials are working together to stabilize the foreign trade market and shoulder the responsibilities of an economically significant region.

Recently, Nanjing Wolite New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. participated in the 26th Jiangsu Export Commodity Exhibition (Osaka Exhibition) organized by the provincial commerce department. They showcased solar panels, photovoltaic balcony system kits, and energy storage devices, demonstrating the innovative strength of Jiangsu’s “new trio” of foreign trade products. This year, the provincial commerce department has firmly taken on the crucial responsibility of stabilizing foreign trade, foreign investment, and expanding consumption. They have mobilized elite resources to broaden development opportunities for enterprises, quickly implementing policies and establishing coordinated mechanisms to address challenges. The provincial commerce system has formed a collaborative work framework, engaging party members in the “Jiangsu Quality Products Global” initiative and focusing on expanding emerging markets by organizing 288 overseas exhibition projects.

The combined effect of officials leading and enterprises following is becoming apparent. Currently, emerging markets have become the primary driving force for the province’s foreign trade to withstand external shocks and achieve positive growth. From January to April, exports to ASEAN, Africa, and Latin America increased by 24.7%, 14.9%, and 11%, respectively, with emerging markets contributing 5.8 percentage points to the growth in imports and exports. Officials at all levels in the provincial commerce system will continue to implement the “Several Measures for Stabilizing Foreign Investment in Jiangsu Province by 2025,” fully supporting enterprises in overcoming difficulties.

Specialized Services: Targeted Solutions to Address Challenges

In the past week, numerous products from Wuxi Shangbai Global E-commerce Co., Ltd., including home textiles, household goods, pet supplies, and baby products, have been sold through platforms like Amazon to North America, Europe, and Japan. “The external environment has indeed impacted our production and sales in North America, but thankfully, the overseas business innovation and exchange center stationed in Europe helped us establish an office in Amsterdam, further broadening our business channels and resources,” said Wu Xinfeng, chairman of Shangbai Global E-commerce Company.

A similar situation occurred at Wuxi Rilian Technology Co., Ltd., which specializes in industrial X-ray detection equipment. To assist the company in expanding its market and building an international industrial chain, Wuxi High-tech Zone (Xinwu District) has strongly supported Rilian Technology in establishing a new production base in Johor, Malaysia, and setting up a European operations center in Hungary, aiming to enhance product quality, reduce costs, improve production efficiency, and optimize supply chains and processes.

Supporting enterprises in exploring new markets and enhancing resilience in development relies not only on policy support but also on a specialized team of officials. Wuxi High-tech Zone (Xinwu District) has established a task force for open economy work, promoting the construction of four overseas business innovation and exchange centers in Tokyo, Seoul, Frankfurt, and Singapore. “We are committed to comprehensive planning and scientific selection, evaluating the official team’s capabilities. We adopt a model of ‘department-level leader + resident + rotational residents + local hires,’ selecting a quick-thinking and highly organized department-level official to lead, paired with two language-proficient and industry-savvy permanent staff, along with two rotational young officials, and hiring a local investment consultant familiar with the industry, policies, and services. This forms a three-pronged training mechanism of ‘professional guidance + local collaboration + tiered cultivation,'” a representative from the district’s organization department explained. Overseas officials regularly conduct specialized training to continuously broaden their international work perspectives and refine their foreign affairs skills.

“Seeing over 5 million yuan worth of inventory nearly bursting out of the warehouse, while orders fluctuated, was quite stressful,” recalled Lu Saiyong, general manager of Meimian Century (Nantong) Trade Co., Ltd.—the company’s profits shrank by 20% due to dramatic changes in international trade conditions.

At a critical juncture, the task force in the company’s location, Sanzhou Town in Haimen District, Nantong City, stepped in to devise tailored solutions: they used an “International Market Heat Map” to accurately locate the Japanese mid-range home textile market, arranged for supply chain experts to provide on-site guidance, and introduced third-party quality inspection agencies to optimize the export process, applying a multi-faceted approach to help the company break through challenges. “The task force not only provided a ‘lifeline’ but also taught us ‘new swimming techniques,'” Lu Saiyong expressed. “Now, our orders from Japan have exceeded 2,000 per month, with profit margins rising to 22%, and we have successfully expanded into the Middle East market!”

Centered around DIESHI Bridge in Sanzhou Town, the Nantong DIESHI Bridge Home Textile Market is the largest production and distribution center for home textile products in the country, with a trade network extending to over 130 countries and regions worldwide. In the current climate, how can enterprises diversify their market expansion? How can they shift to the domestic market? How can e-commerce platforms and financial systems assist enterprises in overcoming challenges? Since April, the local party and government systems have integrated customs trade data and international market dynamics, using big data technology to create a visual “International Market Heat Map.” They have organized task force officials to conduct in-depth analysis from various dimensions such as market size, competitive landscape, and policy environment, providing customized market expansion plans for enterprises. Additionally, they have implemented a “professional officials stationed at enterprises” initiative, carefully selecting 32 skilled professionals versed in foreign trade, law, and finance to serve as service specialists, forming a comprehensive service system of “enterprise orders, specialists processing, departments facilitating, and government oversight.”

Specialized Empowerment: Strengthening Officials’ Ability to Adapt

The ability to learn is a “survival skill” in an open environment. In light of the current complex and changing foreign trade economic situation, various regions are continuously enhancing officials’ abilities to accurately identify changes, scientifically respond, and proactively seek transformations. They are learning by doing and practicing through real tasks, helping officials broaden their perspectives, consistently improve their competencies, and take initiative.

Recently, Liu Fa, a senior supervisor in the cross-border e-commerce industry at the Lianyungang Management Office of the China (Jiangsu) Free Trade Zone, attended the 137th Canton Fair with his team, where they signed a number of foreign trade enterprise orders with merchants from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and Africa. “I recently participated in a specialized lecture at the Port City Lecture Hall, which greatly inspired me. We need to actively guide enterprises to broaden their sales channels through a model of ‘online digital marketing + offline exhibition linkage,’ allowing them to find new business opportunities through the co-construction of the ‘Belt and Road,'” Liu stated.

This year, Lianyungang City has focused on cultivating officials’ open-mindedness, international perspective, and global thinking. They are pushing officials to understand and master policies and regulations of open economies, integrating the enhancement of officials’ capabilities in foreign trade into the training core. They are employing diverse approaches such as “theory + practice + exchange” to improve officials’ skills in foreign trade. “We focus on the forefront of openness and institutional innovation, constructing a training model of ‘theoretical teaching + case analysis + practical refinement,’ emphasizing the study of international high-standard trade rules such as RCEP, CPTPP, and DEPA. We rely on practice platforms such as the Free Trade Zone and the SCO (Lianyungang) International Logistics Park to provide immersive learning, facilitating officials’ transition from ‘classroom input’ to ‘development output,'” a representative from the Lianyungang Municipal Organization Department remarked.

Yancheng City has adhered to an open-minded training approach, conducting 16 specialized training sessions on marine economy, green low-carbon initiatives, and financial management, inviting experts from advanced regions and international enterprises to teach. They have organized officials to visit frontline open areas such as Shenzhen and Shanghai to gain insights, visit leading enterprises, and encourage officials at all levels to embrace open ideas, master professional methods, and enhance scientific capabilities. This year, to strengthen outward expansion and international alignment, the city has promoted the assignment and mutual exchange of 60 outstanding young officials to frontline industries, leading enterprises, and new research institutions for service training, enabling talent to return to specialized roles and grow through experience, thus stimulating intrinsic motivation to seize opportunities and excel in practical endeavors.