Who will promote new urbanization "China Business News"

New urbanization is a hot spot in China today, and it is also the focus of various social problems. Some people expect it to start a new round of investment, absorb liquidity and digest excess capacity, and continue to be the engine of future growth; Others believe that this can only be the result of economic and social development.

Under the background of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee that "the market should play a decisive role in resource allocation", we can't help asking, where is the vitality of the market? How can we fully mobilize and meet the internal needs of market development? Where are the new market forces to promote new urbanization?

As a private think tank that has been engaged in the research of urban and regional development strategies for more than 20 years, Wang Zhigang's studio has completed the development strategic planning of several cities and regions, and conducted fruitful exploration between the government and the market.

The reporter of China Business News interviewed Mr. Wang Zhigang, the witness and participant of China's 30 years of reform and opening up, and the founder of the strategic think tank of Wang Zhigang's studio, on hot topics related to new urbanization.

"mayor" Vs "market"

China Business News: As a reporter and participant in the whole process of reform and opening-up, 30 years ago, you reported that "millions of immigrants went to the Pearl River", which fully showed the contradictory reality of urbanization at the beginning of reform and opening-up. What is the difference between the new urbanization now and the urbanization 30 years ago? Where is the "new"?

Wang Zhigang: Urbanization and industrialization go hand in hand. It has never been a problem of one aspect, but the intersection of politics, economy, society, international pattern, development stage and many other issues. Millions of immigrants to the Pearl River is a typical epitome of urbanization and industrialization in China at the beginning of reform and opening up.

Today, we criticize many aspects of China's industrialization and urbanization, including sweatshops, environmental pollution and many other problems, but at that time we had to do so. Thirty years ago, China's international status and China's development stage decided that it was export-driven and could only sell its labor force, and millions of immigrants had to leave their homes. This process was copied to the Yangtze River Delta, the Midwest and even remote mountainous areas in the following 30 years.

The law of this market has not changed until today, but the situation has changed. Thirty years later, China has changed from a factory in the world to the largest consumption place, and China people have paid attention to quantity to quality, which determines that the process of urbanization and industrialization in China will continue, but the mode and path will undergo profound changes.

Thirty years ago, production was the core, and both ends were outside; Thirty years later, driven by consumption, the market is at home. People flow has also changed. In the past, hundreds of millions of migrant workers poured into cities from rural areas and entered coastal areas to look for jobs. Now people in the city yearn for the countryside, chasing the breeze and the bright moon.

Both external and internal factors have changed, and the new urbanization in the future is bound to be different from the urbanization in the past. If all parties still consider and operate according to the original inertia, the result will inevitably be a boat seeking a sword.

China Business News: You have been engaged in urban strategy research for so many years, and there is a widely spread view of urban management, that is, the success of a city needs "the mayor and the market to dance in pairs". Is this assertion still valid in the new urbanization?

Wang Zhigang: Ten years ago, we proposed that the main body of urban management is not only the government, but the mayor must learn to duet with the market and realize the macro goal of urban value-added in a market-oriented way. Any well-managed city must be a place where the laws of market economy are fully practiced.

Now this concept is not out of date, but should be more emphasized. Because the power of the market is richer and more dynamic than it was ten years ago. If only some prescient enterprises played an important role in starting the market ten years ago, today more ordinary consumers, entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized business owners have begun to play the role of starting the market. How to fully mobilize the vitality of the market and how to meet the internal needs of market development has put forward higher requirements for our mayor.

Who is the market-oriented force

"First Financial Daily": The Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee put forward that "let the market play a decisive role in resource allocation". What market forces will be the "new driving force" to promote new urbanization in the future?

Wang Zhigang: People are talking about urbanization, but people are not abstract people, but living people.

We often say that the past few decades have enriched China, not only in terms of capital, but also in terms of people. The interaction between people will be the core force to promote new urbanization. More importantly, a group of people will return to the countryside from the city with new horizons and new skills, which will set off a new revolution.

We traveled all over the country and saw many interesting phenomena. To sum up, there are five forces that cannot be ignored: returning farmers, returning entrepreneurs, local enterprises, urban petty bourgeoisie and real estate developers. Some of them don't look strong, but Xiao He just shows his sharp corners, and his future role can't be underestimated.

China Business News: With the rising labor costs, industries are gradually shifting to the central and western regions. Many farmers have returned to their hometowns for employment and some have returned to their hometowns to start businesses. Have they begun to become an important market force in the local new urbanization construction?

Wang Zhigang: Yes. Let me give two very typical examples.

The first story happened in Guizhou. A few years ago, local investors invested hundreds of thousands of square meters to build industrial parks, and everyone was not optimistic. Because the cost from the coast to the mainland has doubled, it can't be supported. But I didn't expect a fundamental change this time-in the past, the labor force was chasing the work, and now the work is chasing the labor force.

The local government found that there were seven or eight thousand skilled textile and garment workers along the coast, so it mobilized from house to house during the Spring Festival, saying that our county would also set up a garment factory, and you would get 3,500 along the coast and 3,000 here. You can lift your legs and go home, and the county is also preparing to build low-rent housing. If you don't buy it, it's 500 a month, and if you buy it, it's 2000 a square meter. So no one wants to go to the seaside anymore. The government will talk to enterprises again, and enterprises that have not come for a long time are willing to come now.

This is the case in many places in Sichuan, Guizhou and Henan. This shows that the situation has changed: China had no choice but to sell its labor force, and the competitive advantage was cost, so the coastal area had the most advantage. Everyone ran to the coast, hundreds of millions of people migrated, abandoned their wives and children, left their homes, and the countryside was in depression. There are left-behind old people and children at home, and separated couples outside. Farmers paid a huge price for getting a little income. China is different now. Not only the labor force is here, but also the consumer market is here. A rare opportunity appeared.

The second story happened in Hunan. In 2008, I went to Loudi, Hunan Province on business and chatted with the girl who pinched her feet when she went to get a pedicure. I said: Where are you from? She said: It's from a neighboring village. I said, where did you learn to pinch your feet? She said: In Guangdong. I said: Why not go to Guangdong now? She said: In Guangdong, the family can't manage it. After returning to my hometown, I can go back to take care of my child's husband and feel very happy; Secondly, the income here is not much lower than that in Guangdong. I asked her: Will she go back to Guangdong? She said: I will never go back.

During the financial crisis, many farmers went home, and when they went back, they were completely different from when they first came. First, there will be at least tens of thousands of dollars. The second is to master some skills and skills. Third, I have seen the world and my head is beginning to understand. After I went back, I opened a pedicure shop, a restaurant and even an auto repair shop and started my own business. The idea of bringing them back to the outside world after returning home strengthened the fragile countryside.

China Business News: In addition, there is a rising force, that is, local small and medium-sized enterprises, which used to be grassroots entrepreneurs. Now they have accumulated more or less, not only capital, but also certain industrial capabilities.

Wang Zhigang: In the past, local governments put more emphasis on son-in-law than son. First for foreign businessmen and Taiwanese businessmen, and then for domestic giants. The conditions offered to them are much better than those offered to local people. Because foreigners will bring things that are not available locally, whether it is funds, resources or ideas. But now local entrepreneurs are constantly developing and upgrading, and some of them already have certain resource integration ability. For example, we are making strategies in Renqiu. A local enterprise has integrated the largest aviation service enterprise in Europe. Renqiu will be an ecological pioneer in the next step, and also integrate global resources through the strength of local enterprises.

These local tyrants are all "native Sri Lankans". If they start a business to solve the problem of survival, then they are also thinking about the pursuit of life after these problems are solved, and they also hope to do something for their hometown. I have helped many entrepreneurs over the years. Today's super-rich are all back to the grassroots 20 years ago, and they are not as strong as today's local tyrants. But the winner finally wins in the field of vision and pattern, and only with long-term goals can there be long-term motivation.

We are now trying to find new development opportunities for them through entrepreneur training and government strategy, and integrate their strength through financial innovation. If we can unite these local tyrants, it will become a force that cannot be ignored in the process of promoting new urbanization.

China Business News: A group of people are leaving big cities and coming to small towns and rural areas, becoming a force against urbanization. Will these people also become market forces to promote new urbanization?

Wang Zhigang: At present, a new movement of "going to the countryside" is worthy of attention: for example, some places with beautiful scenery, comfortable climate and cultural traditions, such as Dali Shuanglang, such as Lijiang, have become a paradise for urban petty bourgeoisie. They came to Cangshan and Erhai, built inns, rented houses, took their children and lived a different life from the city.

They have the ability to pursue culture, not only in rural areas, but also in many ancient towns and cities, which will benefit from this force. People are familiar with it, such as Chengdu Jinli and Kuanzhai Lane; Now we are reviving the old city in Jingdezhen, combining the inheritance of the Millennium kiln fire with modern culture, providing space for the creative class to create and live in a space full of cultural atmosphere.

The new urbanization should "see the mountains, see the water and stay homesick". What is homesickness is culture, giving culture a bearing space!

China Business News: Real estate developers are a force to be reckoned with. What role will they play in the new urbanization?

Wang Zhigang: Real estate developers have a strong ability to integrate resources, which may be an angel or a devil. There are many successful cases, such as Wanda building a world-class ski destination in Changbai Mountain, and Longhu doing a good job in Yantai and Fuxian Lake. For example, Vanke Liangzhu Cultural Village combines with the rural neighborhood and returns to nature. There are too many things that are not done well.

The market will be full of waves. Today, real estate has begun to shuffle, and developers who can only build houses must be eliminated. I said many years ago that real estate is a carrier, and its real value is "1+X". Not many people really understand and do it. Huaxia Happiness Foundation understood and became an expert in regional operation. Tianfu Xingu understood and became the leader of the technology incubator.

So what is the future direction? The reality is that "the cow is hungry and the grass is stuck". What do you mean? Many resources, such as good air, environment and organic food, have not been converted into assets, and people who own these resources, such as farmers, have not benefited. On the other side are people with spending power, who are willing to spend ten times as much money on organic food and chase after the cool breeze and bright moon. Instead of sending goods to the countryside, why not send consumption to the countryside? This is a huge market with a potential of trillions. But how is this market connected, e-commerce, tourism and leisure, or what? This is what everyone wants to know now, and we are also exploring.

"Three Magic Weapons" of New Urbanization

China Business News: The curtain of a new round of urbanization development is opening. Can you give some suggestions on the current new urbanization construction based on years of practical experience?

Wang Zhigang: As a private think tank, the reason why we can participate in more and more urban strategies, regional strategies and even national strategies is because of our grasp of the law of market development. For the new urbanization, I think there are three points worthy of attention:

The first point is the transformation from urban operators to industrial operators.

Ten years ago, we put forward the concept of city operators. City operators or industrial operators that need to be upgraded in the future. The core difference between "city operators" and "industrial operators" is that the former takes land as the core and the latter takes industry as the core, so they must adapt to the transformation from land management to industrial management. The era of profiteering through land is gone forever. The cultivation of industry needs long-term incubation, relying on operation, providing value-added services and investment to obtain multiple benefits.

Second, investors, operators and consumers should realize the "trinity".

In the past, producers were not consumers because they were unable to consume. It is difficult for consumers to become investors directly, because the threshold is too high, and now these problems can be solved, and the three are merging.

For example, doing leisure health, not only the boss can invest, but also ordinary consumers now have the opportunity to invest. For example, culturally, producers are consumers, and consumers can also be producers. How to straighten out the relationship between the three and how to get through? Only by opening up the relationship between them can we find a new business model, which is a problem that people who want to do industrial operation in the future must consider.

Third, we should realize "government management environment, enterprise management market and people management culture".

Government management environment means that the government needs macro-control, carries out clear strategic planning for a city according to scientific and reasonable principles, defines the rules of the game, and then selects several leaders as locomotives to effectively incite the development of a regional plate. Managing the market means that enterprises can develop themselves, restrain themselves, manage themselves and participate in the competition in full accordance with the rules of the market economy, thus truly forming a pattern of "10,000 kinds of free competition in first frost". People's management culture means that under the premise of government macro-control and free competition of enterprises, consumers and ordinary people will naturally create unique regional culture intentionally or unintentionally, because culture is intangible, but it is a perceptible atmosphere.

Generally speaking, I think the new urbanization is a real test and a hard bone. Only in this way can people truly become the last stop, and transformation and upgrading are possible. We have visited the Three Gorges in history, and only by scientific methods and arduous exploration can we reach Ma Pingchuan and enjoy the infinite scenery.