Jiangxi eyes scenario-based industrial collaborations

Highlighting regional collaboration, Chen Shuilian, vice-mayor of Jiujiang, detailed the city's partnership with the GBA. Jiujiang has successfully explored models such as "GBA headquarters plus Jiujiang base" and "fund guidance plus industrial cultivation" in sectors including lithium battery materials, humanoid robots and 3D printing.

Ganzhou presented a different scenario, focusing on new rare earth materials and new energy. Leveraging platforms like the Ganjiang Innovation Academy of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Rare Earth Functional Materials Innovation Center, the city aims to link research, pilot incubation and industrial application.

The national center has incubated 17 technology companies and built 26 pilot demonstration lines, providing crucial support for Ganzhou's rare earth industry, which now exceeds 100 billion yuan ($14.78 billion) in scale. For Ganzhou, the greater challenge lies not just in extracting resources, but in transforming them into advanced materials and components that can integrate into broader industrial chains.

Shangrao highlighted its photovoltaic and optical electronics sectors, leveraging industry leaders like Jinko Solar Co, which boasts over 5,600 global patents and a 20-billion-yuan R&D investment over the past five years, to create more testing, demonstration and supply-chain opportunities. Meanwhile, the Ganjiang New Area showcased future-oriented public resources and research platforms, such as a traditional Chinese medicine innovation city in Nanchang, capital of Jiangxi, and digital economy industrial parks, pointing to another dimension of structural openness.

Scenarios alone, however, are insufficient without capital. On May 20, Jiangxi hosted a conference in Shenzhen, focusing on the deeper integration of industry and finance. Six Jiangxi enterprises involved in the province's key manufacturing initiatives pitched their technologies, growth prospects and financing needs to industrial funds from both Jiangxi and the GBA.

"Jiangxi has a solid industrial foundation, a sound financial ecosystem and a strong open environment," said Fang Yanru, chairwoman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Jiangxi Provincial Committee, expressing hope that GBA financial institutions would strengthen their cooperation with the province. Jiangxi's outstanding loans exceeded 7 trillion yuan in the first quarter, up 7.8 percent year-on-year, with manufacturing loans rising 13.9 percent. The province currently boasts 54 companies listed in Shenzhen and 24 in Hong Kong.

Xu Zhonghua, executive deputy director of the office of the financial affairs committee of the Communist Party of China Jiangxi Provincial Committee, urged stronger industry-finance cooperation and smoother two-way information channels to identify more high-quality Jiangxi firms with listing potential.

Market access remains another vital pillar of this strategy. At a cross-border e-commerce event, officials highlighted the synergy between Jiangxi's comprehensive manufacturing capabilities and the GBA's advanced digital platforms, noting that such cooperation could achieve a result where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. For enterprises, the demand is direct and practical. Xiao Shaping, foreign trade manager of Jiangxi OYF Vehicle Industry Co, said the Shenzhen event directly connected her company with potential clients from Russia and Pakistan, effectively linking Jiangxi's industrial belts with global e-commerce opportunities.

Wang Chunlei, deputy director of the Department of Commerce of Jiangxi Province, summarized the activity week as a reflection of three fundamental shifts in the province's approach: from traditional investment promotion to trade-investment integration, from one-way industrial transfer to two-way cooperation, and from basic industrial collaboration to comprehensive integrated development. Moving forward, Jiangxi plans to hold more than 100 specialized, industry-focused matchmaking events in the GBA annually.

Ultimately, the true measure of success will be follow-up work. While 151 scenarios have been released, the focus now shifts to transforming these opportunities into pilot projects, securing timely funding and building global brands. These questions will not be answered in a single activity week, but the direction is clear. By bringing concrete offers to the GBA — testing grounds, industrial platforms, capital links and manufacturing capacity — Jiangxi is moving beyond simple project promotion toward long-term, scenario-based industrial partnerships.

Contact the writers at renqi@chinadaily.com.cn