[Editor's Note]
On April 1, 2017, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council decided to merge the three counties and districts of Hebei Province, including Xiongxian, Rongcheng, and Anxin, and some surrounding areas, to establish another national-level new district with national significance, named after Xiongan New District, and position it as a millennium plan and national event with a major historic strategic choice.
On April 1 this year, Xiongan New Area celebrated its first anniversary. In what form does this land that has been silent for many years, these three small county towns that were originally unknown exist for a long time? What kind of life do the people here usually live? What did they go through after announcing it as a national new district? What do residents and villagers within the planning scope of the new district have feelings and expectations for future life and changes?
The Paper’s Please Speaker column published a series of interviews in depth in Xiongan New Area. The interviews of the group were conducted by teachers and 100 doctors in the Xiong'an New Area Development Institute of Communication University of China in July 2017 and conducted a two-month study and compilation of village history. The interviewees included more than 100 local farmers, fishermen, handicraftsmen, folk skills inheritors, business managers, teachers, doctors, etc. The research team visited 28 villages and 15 enterprises. The research results were finally included in the third volume of the "Xiong'an New Area Development Research Report" published by Intellectual Property Publishing House.
The Paper is authorized by the Xiong'an New District Development Research Institute of Communication University of China to publish some interview content for readers. Today we are publishing an interview with Feng Xue, the owner of the backpack processing factory in Rongcheng County, , Rongcheng County, Beihezhao Village.
In recent years, Rongcheng County has vigorously promoted industrial structure adjustment, the pace of industrial transformation and upgrading has gradually accelerated, traditional industries have burst out vitality, and emerging industries have flourished, forming a good development situation with the clothing industry as the main body and other industries such as luggage and plush toys as the supplement. According to data released in 2016 released by the Rongcheng County People's Government Portal website, there were 1,170 processing households in Rongcheng County, more than 10,000 employees, and luggage products were exported to more than 20 countries and regions.
is close to Baigou, the largest small commodity distribution center around Beijing, and has a strong driving effect on Rongcheng's commercial logistics and processing industry. Baigou's luggage industry is one of the top ten regional characteristic industries in Hebei Province and is the "provincial luggage and bag characteristic industry export base". Baigou luggage The prosperity and development of the industry has four major advantages that cannot be compared with other places. First, the transportation advantages are obvious. Baigou New City can be quickly and directly accessed through various transportation methods through various means of transportation, further facilitating the flow of resources. Second, the industrial foundation is strong. The Baigou luggage industry has formed a regional characteristic industrial cluster that radiates to 10 surrounding counties (cities), more than 50 townships, more than 500 natural villages, and has 1.5 million employees. It owns nearly 4,000 luggage companies, including more than 350 large-scale enterprises, forming a huge industrial chain and industrial cluster from raw and auxiliary materials production to finished product sales. Especially within a half-hour drive around Baigou, it has formed an industrial pattern of complementary advantages and mutually driven by various characteristic industries such as Rongcheng Clothing, Xiongxian Paper and Plastic Packaging, and Anxin Shoemaking. Third, the logistics system is developed. Relying on three logistics parks, Baigou has built a complete logistics supporting system, with more than 200 freight lines and 121 stations, covering all county-level and above cities across the country, with an annual throughput of more than 17 million tons. Fourth, the business atmosphere is strong. Baigou Market is the largest luggage market in northern my country, and has formed a large comprehensive trade cluster with 14 professional markets including luggage, clothing, shoes and hats, and small commodities.
Under this background, we led by the village head of , , Beihezhao Village, to the "Yihan Fabric Backpack Processing Factory" in the village. Although Yihan Fabric Backpack Processing Factory is not located in Baigou Town, its luggage factory is large in scale and is very representative. Less than five minutes from the Beihezhao Village Committee to Feng Xue’s house, we saw a large backyard with various backpacks and some raw materials on the ground. Feng Xue and his wife live next to their parents and relatives, and take care of their luggage business together. They have been operating Yihan fabric backpack processing factory for more than a dozen years.The students from the Rongcheng Cultural Resources Research Group interviewed Feng Xue and his wife separately to learn about the excitement and anxiety of local luggage owners facing the establishment of Xiong'an New Area.
Interview location : Yihan Fabric Backpack Processing Factory, Beihezhao Village, Rongcheng County
Interview object : Feng Xue, owner of Yihan Fabric Backpack Processing Factory,
Interviewer : Rongcheng Cultural Resources Research Group, Department of Economics and Management, Communication University of China,
Organized : Xu Chunxiao Xu Tingting, owner of Yihan Fabric Backpack Processing Factory,
Beihezhao Village, was interviewed.
Question: is about to contract the luggage from our village?
Feng Xue : No, I basically contracted it near our village.
Question: is imported raw material, and then processed?
Feng Xue: does not have it, the raw materials are from China, and the things are exported.
Query : Where did the raw materials come in?
Feng Xue: Baigou, Yiwu, Guangzhou, all of them.
Question: Is there anyone who came in in Guangzhou? Where is the exported?
Feng Xue : Many countries, I can’t tell you.
Question: Is sold domestically?
Feng Xue : We are all doing foreign trade, and recently, there are more products in Brazil.
Query : After the establishment of Xiongan New Area, what impact will it have on the daily life in the village?
Feng Xue : If it is really demolished, how can I do this?
Query : Will it definitely have a certain impact on your side?
Feng Xue : Absolutely.
Ask : Is the government talking to you now?
Feng Xue : None yet, we cannot dismantle this issue.
Question : It is estimated that after many years, after the construction of Dawangying Town?
Feng Xue: I have to ask the leader. You will know after you have a policy.
Interjection : The factory can no longer be moved, rebuilt or something.
Feng Xue : No, the workers in my factory are not at home either. Their home are only responsible for shipping, packaging, etc., and the workers are not at home.
Question : Do workers also recruit from outside?
Feng Xue: We used tricks in Handan.
Question: The cost of is higher than here, right?
Feng Xue: The salary on is cheaper than ours, and ours is a bit higher. Business is not easy to do now, and there is no big profit, so I can only think of my own way.
Q: How many workers do you have?
Feng Xue: There are more than 400 people in Handan, totaling more than 500 people.
Question: You are only in the processing stage, don’t you have your own brand?
Feng Xue : I have my own brand, but when foreigners come here, they insist on their own brand. I do all foreign brands.
Baobao bags produced by Yihan Fabric Backpack Processing Factory in Beihezhao Village.
Question: Are you using to produce ?
Feng Xue : His own brand is not called OEM production, the nature is different. I just process it for him, and they all have their own brand. Each customer has different standards.
Question : But the products are still like this? Do you have children?
Feng Xue: has two children.
Question : Are both children still local?
Feng Xue: is still in school.
Question: wants them to go out in the future? Or in , Xiongan ?
Feng Xue: My girl wants to go abroad, so let’s talk about it then.
Ask : That's pretty good too. How old is my eldest daughter now?
Feng Xue: 14 years old, in the third year of junior high school.
Question: Where is on?
Feng Xue: A private middle school in our county.
Question : I just heard from the village chief about two?
Feng Xue: Just two.
Query : How much is the tuition fee per year?
Feng Xue : Nearly 10,000 yuan a year is not expensive. In short, a person can’t use 20,000 yuan a year, and it can’t use 20,000 yuan for food and spending.
Question: What is the approximate annual income of those who do luggage business in our village? By family?
Feng Xue: This is a personal confidentiality issue, can you not disclose it?
Query : Yes, we respect individuals.
Feng Xue : The annual income is not convenient to disclose, everything else is OK.
Question: Tell me the name of the company and we want to write a report.
Feng Xue: Yihan fabric backpack.
Asked : Because I just talked to the village chief for a long time and said that you are indeed a representative one in the village.
Feng Xue: is okay, now within a radius of dozens of kilometers, I should be relatively stable.
Question: is also relatively large in scale, with four or five hundred people.
Feng Xue: Because the workers are not at home, I feel that I don’t have a large scale here.
Query : And your employment has spread to Handan, and the market has spread to overseas?
Feng Xue : Yes, what we do are all overseas goods, basically no domestic ones.
Question: The industry chain is still relatively long, and the raw materials are still imported from Baigou.
Feng Xue: There are more white grooves. The amount in China is relatively small, so why don’t we use this resource? You are not the time to come. If we came the day before yesterday, our Dubai customers are here.
Yihan Fabric Backpack Processing Factory Beihezhao Village Factory.
Question: Do you have any demand for expanding the scale of your factory?
Feng Xue: Of course.
Question: Is considered to go to other regions, such as other places in Hebei?
Feng Xue : It would be convenient if we could get a piece of land here, because things like these raw materials, luggage accessories, etc. are all near us. It is not convenient for us to go to other places. The related industries are nearby, so it is inconvenient for us to go to other places.
Question : As soon as Xiongan New Area is established, it is estimated that it will be restricted?
Feng Xue: will definitely be restricted now, and in the future, we can do nothing.
Query : Do you have any personal plans in the future? What if it is a key place for scientific and technological development and education in the future?
Feng Xue: I have a friend on Quyang . I asked them to negotiate with the government and want to go there to build a piece of land and a factory there.
Question: Qu Yang's sculpture is still very famous?
Feng Xue: Yes, a friend from Quyang is now negotiating for me to see if it can have any effect.
Question : You are still far-sighted enough and have planned three to five years, because indeed, this industry will definitely be moved out as a whole in the future. Do you have some small ideas in your mind? For example, doing R&D? For example, making an agent, processing, and making your own brand?
Feng Xue : We have our own brand, but our brand is indeed not famous enough. Our Chinese products are abroad, and the cost is low. We use his brand to make them and send them abroad. He sells them himself. My brand cannot be sold, and there is no way. We have brands, but customers have never recognized them. The brands of our customers are doing well now, and there is no need for the time being, so that's all.
Question: In the future, you have to slowly cultivate your own brand?
Feng Xue : I thought about it, but reality is not easy.
Query : If you jump over, you will have a vast sky and a vast sky. It is really not easy.
Interlude: Quanzhou and Putian are all making shoes. Putian is still in the OEM stage. Because of its own innovation, Quanzhou has many of its own brands and has launched many good brands.
Feng Xue: should give us some support in this regard, and we should be better.
Question : Yes, yes.
Interjection : Does the government have any financial support in this regard?
Feng Xue: Our place is Xiong'an New Area. The market for these packages is in Baigou. Our related industries have nothing to do with Xiong'an New Area now, but have something to do with the Baigou government.
Question : The impact on you is still good. Are there any restrictions on Baigou?
Feng Xue : It definitely doesn’t matter with Baigou, I will definitely encourage this. It has little to do with this place. Baigou has basically nothing to do with Xiongan New Area for the time being. If you take over, you can only find a way to find a factory by yourself, or rent a house by yourself. Now the rent is rising sharply, and it keeps rising.
Question: Is the factory building on rented or owned?
Feng Xue : I will definitely not sell the land in Handan to you. After renting the land, I will build my own factory because it is not my own land.
Query : How many years is the lease term?
Feng Xue : There is no specific regulation, because they all belong to local farmers in Handan. He uses idle places. I have to give him money every year after renting them. He is definitely willing to rent them to me for a long time. This should have a lot to their side, and Xiongan New Area does not have much to do with them, so it should not be a problem there.
Yihan Fabric Backpack Processing Factory owner’s housing.
Question: Do other villagers in do you work in your place?
Feng Xue : There are no more than a dozen people this year. It turns out that half of the village is working at our house, and I can help with a lot of things, but I can’t say it. After all, our salary is high, and all the work we can do is done outside. We just leave a few people at home to pack, ship, and do some preparations, and nothing else is left.
[Research and Thinking]
In the county towns of North China where the advantages and resources are not outstanding, many small towns in Rongcheng are famous all over the country for their clothing and luggage industry. This can be regarded as a powerful witness to the flexible business thinking of the people of Rongcheng. From a relatively large-scale clothing enterprise to such family factory workshops, the clothing processing industry has become a powerful local industry, creating a large number of jobs and supporting countless families. Rongcheng clothing industry takes OEM processing as its main model. With the help of labor advantages, although the profit per piece is extremely low, it wins by volume. This traditional processing model also reflects the basic status of my country's clothing processing industry. Business models like
helped them quickly gain a foothold in the early stages of their business, and also became an important advantage for their later expansion and development. However, the disadvantages of this model are also very obvious, that is, the labor and intellectual costs they require are low, and they are at the lowest link of the industrial value chain. Most of the profits of OEM processing are occupied by the front end of the industrial chain.
The Yihan fabric backpack processing factory we interviewed this time is a model of independent design, independent production and independent sales. The products are sold to South America. When the local luggage factory is affected by uncertainties and reduces domestic orders, the orders of the processing factory are not greatly affected, which is also related to their sales market. In conversation with the boss, they can feel their pride in the size and sales of their own factories. But there is also a vague concern, mainly because the establishment of Xiongan New Area has not had an obvious impact on the factory. At the same time, in order to adapt to the overall planning of Xiongan New Area and the transformation and upgrading required for the factory's own development.
The establishment of Xiong'an New Area is still unknown in many aspects. Increased rents and restricted land use have all increased the difficulty of further expansion of the factory. At the same time, the height of the new district's positioning has caused the factory owner to worry about his relatively low-end factory. If the reform is not carried out on the initiative, can the factory continue to develop? Observe the luggage products of Yihan Fabric Backpack Processing Factory. All styles are designed independently, but the styles are old and of poor quality. Regardless of whether the planning of Xiongan New Area will have an impact on the development of the factory, breakthrough reforms based on their own are inevitable. Faced with the rich talent resources that the new district will bring, the factory owner also realized that cooperation with design talents from universities and professionals will be an opportunity for the factory. Whether the factory can seize the opportunity, make breakthroughs in design, get out of the comfort zone of the production model, and increase the added value of the product, requires the factory to "swer" and make drastic moves.
(The title of this article was added by the editor, and the original title is: "Building a characteristic industrial cluster with luggage manufacturing industry - Visiting the backpack processing factory in Beihezhao Village, Rongcheng County")
