Picture top left: Hydrogen vehicles produced by the private Meijin Group in Taiyuan
Contributions made by private enterprises to Taiyuan’s development were praised by local authorities during a recent conference in the capital city of Shanxi province. Nearly 1,000 representatives of companies, trade associations and household businesses attended the Taiyuan High-Quality Development Conference for the Private Economy held on June 30. Nineteen private businesses received awards at the event for their outstanding contributions. There were also awards for 160 excellent private businesses, 44 excellent entrepreneurs, 30 excellent household businesses and 10 excellent trade associations. “This is the largest-scale event focusing on the private economy I have ever attended,” said Chen Deping, General Manager of Shanxi iFlytek Artificial Intelligence Technology. The company was among the 160 excellent private companies recognized by the authorities of Taiyuan. “We are glad to win the award,” Chen said. “But we are even happier with the fact that new preferential policies were released by the Shanxi Party Committee and the Shanxi provincial government, which will boost our confidence in future growth.”
Authorities in Taiyuan announced a package of 26 incentive policies in eight categories that include further optimizing administrative services and protecting the interests of private businesses. This is the latest addition to the existing preferential policies issued by the central, provincial and city governments. Taiyuan’s private businesses saw their revival in the late 1970s when China’s reform and opening-up initiatives began and have developed in a rapid and sustainable manner over the past decades. Meijin Group based in Taiyuan, for instance, is a private company that has grown along with China’s development over the decades. The company was founded in 1981, with an initial investment of just CNY16,000 borrowed from a local bank, according to Yao Junliang, Chairman of Meijin. After it had grown into a major coal mining and coking enterprise in Taiyuan, Yao said it began to diversify into the hydrogen industry in 2017. In about six years, Meijin has developed into one of the major hydrogen producers and hydrogen energy solutions providers in Shanxi province. Meijin’s production plant for hydrogen-fueled vehicles began construction in September 2022. With a total investment of CNY1.8 billion, the facility is capable of an annual output of 20,000 vehicles with a loading capacity of up to 49 metric tons. “The beneficial business environment in Taiyuan, as well as Shanxi province, which includes the authorities’ emphasis on the private economy, the preferential policies and the government's constant efforts to improve services for businesses, is one of the major driving forces for Meijin’s growth,” Yao said.
A winner of the excellent private business award, Jinbo Biology is another prime example of the successful development of private businesses in Taiyuan – not only in conventional industries but also in cutting-edge sectors. Jinbo is the developer of recombined human-origin collagen III. The product is at a globally advanced level, and can be used in different sectors ranging from surgery, gynecology and dermatology to skin care cosmetics, according to Yang Xia, Founder and Chairwoman of the company. She said Jinbo Biology is one of the few enterprises in the world that mass produces the collagen. Its volume production began in January 2021. She said the local government supported the company in fundraising, promoting collaboration between enterprises and research institutions, protecting intellectual property rights, and helping enterprises recruit research and development professionals. The Taiyuan city government also helped the company to go public on the domestic stock market.
Wang Guodong, an official in charge of industry and information technology at the Taiyuan Party Committee said that governmental institutions are increasing budgets for buying products and services from private businesses to show their support. Special funds have been set up to support the industrial transformation, digitalization and technological innovation of private enterprises. The number of private businesses in Taiyuan surpassed 763,000 in 2022, accounting for 99.1% of the city’s total. These entities have created employment for 1.62 million people, representing 62.4% of Taiyuan’s working population, the China Daily reports.
