By Xinyi Li, EDITOR

In the past 30 years, Western China has risen rapidly, driving the tide of going westward among Taiwan traders. Chongqing has become a significant gathering place for Taiwan-funded enterprises and the second hometown of over 30,000 Taiwan traders/compatriots who live and work in peace and contentment here.

Nowadays, Taiwan traders in Chongqing have integrated into the Western Development Strategy and taken an active part in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to share development opportunities, transform and upgrade to high-end and intelligent industries, and promote quality development in the western region including Chongqing.

Opportunities in Western China 

Thirty years ago, Li Wenxun invested USD 1.3 million in a water heater factory in Chongqing, which has now developed into Paichi Group, a manufacturer with an annual output value of more than RMB 300 million.

Paichi Group witnessed the rise of Western China.

Chongqing has grown from a closed and backward inland industrial city to a prosperous central city with an international logistics system extending in all directions. It is playing a vital role as an important strategic pillar of the Western Development Strategy and a junction integrating the BRI with the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Moreover, it has ranked among the provinces/cities boasting the most significant number of Taiwan-funded enterprises with the most substantial amount of investment in Western China. According to data, by late 2018, the establishment 1,725 Taiwan-funded enterprises had been approved in Chongqing, with USD 6.233 billion utilized among the total contracted investment of USD 28.296 billion.

Transformation and upgrading 

Taiwan-funded enterprises engaged in traditional manufacturing, relying on big data and intelligent technologies are transforming from labor-intensive industry to smart manufacturing.

Chongqing Xisheng Electronic Technology Co., Ltd., the world’s second-largest laptop battery manufacturer, produced 23 million laptop battery modules in 2018, more than one-tenth of the world’s total. “Our automation rate is close to 50%. Production lines that used to require 100 workers now require ten only,” said Zhuang Ziming, General Manager of this company. Most of the parts are installed and welded by robots, improving precision and work efficiency and saving labor costs sharply.

“The older generation of Taiwan traders witnessed the rise of Western China and the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations, while the new round of Taiwan traders going westward helps themselves seize opportunities of transformation and upgrading, supports the western region including Chongqing in quality development, and makes contributions to deeply integrated cross-strait development as a new bridge,” said Liu JianNan.

Source: Xinhuanet