Haining accelerates its development in a more integrated Yangtze River Delta

A new business school raised its curtain in Haining, Zhejiang Province, near the end of last year. The Zhejiang University International Business School is located inside the international campus of the university and will use its global networks to serve the development of the county-level city and also Yangtze River Delta that it is part of.

“Haining has an excellent location next to a mega city (Shanghai), which reminds me of such great universities as Cambridge and Stanford,” said Ben Shenglin, dean of the school.

The business school is expected to recruit globally with programs ranging from executive education, MBA, EMBA and doctoral programs. Its first fintech program partnering with Cambridge University started this month and included modules both in Hangzhou and London.

“In my prospect one day we will have overseas students studying in China and Chinese students studying abroad. That is what a real international business school shall look like,” added Ben.

Officially opened in October 2017, the Haining international campus extends 800,000 square meters beside the Juanhu Lake and has so far established three institutes (including the business school) collaborating with University of Edinburgh and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign respectively, and also a joint research lab co-founded with Imperial College London.

The programs are mainly focused on biomedical sciences, engineering and China studies while a new institute of arts and sciences is under preparation. Enrolled students are taught by a faculty from both universities and receive two degrees upon graduation.

The launch of such an international campus is expected to offer technology boost in Haining’s transition from low added-value manufacturing to smart production.

Located at the north of the Qiantang River, Haining has been linked with the observation of the tidal bore for over 1,000 years. It is also at the center of the Yangtze River Delta, midway between Hangzhou and Shanghai.

How to leverage its geographic advantages and to keep paces with its neighbors have long been taken as an important strategy for local government. In 2016 the city put “getting integrated with Hangzhou and connected to Shanghai” in its next five-year plan.

In early 2017, a new intercity rail linking Haining with downtown Hangzhou went into construction.

The railroad starts from the north rim of Hangzhou extending 46.38 kilometers eastward with the last stop ending at international campus of Zhejiang University. It is expected to be opened in 2020.

More importantly the rail is directly connected to Line 9 of Hangzhou metro, which means it may cost you only an hour to go from the Sijiqing clothing market in Hangzhou to the Haining leather market, now the largest and most influential leather wholesale market in the nation.

“In the past the three supporting pillars of Haining’s economy were leather, textile and warp knitting,” said Zhao Feng, deputy director at management committee of Haining’s Juanhu International Technology City.

“The launch of the international campus and a new rail between Hangzhou and Haining offer us new opportunities.”

The Juanhu International Technology City is situated to the north of the international campus. The 23.3-square-kilometer area is composed of greenbelts, residential blocks and office blocks. It is supposed to be an innovation incubator and a pilot area for technology transfer and commercialization.

Zhao told Shanghai Daily that information technology, healthcare and cutting-edge materials science will be the three leading industries that the town puts first priority on.

In 2018, the city has introduced 53 projects including a semiconductor and smart technology institute operated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and an enterprise accreditation and assessment center collaborating with a world-leading third-party certification body.

Last April, it signed an agreement with Zhejiang University and University of Edinburgh, which all pledged to establish an international biomedical research center in the city.

At the same time traditional manufacturing is eager to change.

Xucun, a town bordered by Hangzhou’s Yuhang District, is tapping on the opportunity of integration to transform and renew its textile industry.

With a history dating back to the early 1970s, Xucun’s home textile output value has reached 28 billion yuan (US$4.1 billion) by the end of 2017, which is generated by more than 12,000 enterprises in town with a total employment exceeding 67,000.

It is now the world’s largest production base for home textile. Its products have been sold in over 40 countries and regions, and taken over 35 percent of market share in China.

Still most of the companies are family-owned and suffer from a comparatively low profit margin.

In 2017, an art and innovation center for home textile was initiated in Xucun. According to local government, the 850-million-yuan complex is going to be a hub for releasing the latest textile fashion trends, launching new products and cultivating high-end talents.

“We think that urbanization is an important way to upgrade our home textile industry,” said Zhu Yangang, the town’s director.

The investment of the center will put highlights on interior decorations and design which may help local companies, from selling fabrics to a set of customized services. The Internet companies are also welcomed, especially those with the capacity to offer big data analysis.

The project is only an epitome of Xucun’s earnest urbanization process.

In 2016, the Haining government signed a contract with the Yuhang District. Both would work on the plan and development of a 1.5-square-kilometer area in the west part of Xucun Town, where the Yuhang government would invest 8 billion yuan in infrastructure.

By the time the Hangzhou-Haining intercity rail opens, there will be two stations located in Xucun. Compared to the urban areas, the place enjoys low living and land costs and an easy and quick access to downtown Hangzhou.

Du Yingchi, Party secretary of the town, said that they hoped to attract more companies from emerging industries. “To achieve that we need to renew the landscape of the town and improve public facilities,” added Du.