Leading to Innovation

By+Xia+Yuanyuan

As he exited from the suning headquarters in Nanjing， capital of east Chinas Jiangsu Province， Mapundula Erasto Charles， a 32-year-old public servant of Malawi Investment and Trade Center， said his visit in the Chinese electronics giant had been an “eye-opener.”

“I am very much attracted by the advanced technologies that Suning is using which I never thought existed， such as advanced digital data and cloud computing technology，” Charles told ChinAfrica.

Charles is one of the 17 students of Beijing Normal Universitys international MBA program who visited Nanjing and Kunshan cities from April 10-14. Hailing from 15 countries across Asia， Africa and Latin America， the students learned more about the innovation-powered economic development of Jiangsu Province.

Bordering Chinas financial center of Shanghai， Jiangsu has sought over the last few years to give top priority to innovation. This focus is bearing fruits and the province is now recognized as a hotspot of innovation， technology and entrepreneurship in the country.

Like Charles， many of the MBA students worked in various business-related government departments in their respective countries before taking leave to study in China. Charles said his trip convinced him to bring back home some of the best practices from Jiangsu Provinces unique approach to economic development.

Capital of innovation

The Chinese Government has been put- ting strong emphasis on implementing innovation-boosting measures in the countrys rapid development. In this regard， Nanjing is believed to have taken the lead.

“Innovation means developing new and high-tech industries so as to open up more growth spaces， as well as transforming traditional industries with information technology，”said Liu Liya， an offical with the Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Commerce.

To this end， the city has established clusters of technology centers， research and development centers， sales centers， logistics centers and corporate headquarters. “Nanjings new industries are booming， and the contribution rate of scientific and technological progress in economic growth now reaches 61 percent，” said Liu.

By early 2017， over 3，500 enterprises from more than 60 countries and regions had settled in Nanjing to share their innovative resources. The city is home to 83 academicians of Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering and 80 key laboratories of provincial and higher levels， as well as 326 engineering technology research centers providing high-tech support to enterprises.

New methods， new success

“Innovation is our greatest advantage in the face of global competition，” said Dai Xuejun， an official at CRRC Puzhen， a Nanjing-based company mainly engaged in the manufacturing of urban rail vehicles and high-speed trains.

Eight years ago， the company first came into contact with advanced technology overseas，which made the leaders of the company realize that innovation was the key to stand out from global competition， Dai told ChinAfrica. The companys transportation information technology and network control technology， which are important for producing urban rail vehicles， reached world-leading level.

The company also made breakthroughs in management innovation by implementing intelligent logistics. In its 20，000-square-meter logistics center， a cutting-edge backstage system automatically takes care of sorting and distributing parts to workers， reducing time waste and human errors.

“The smart system drastically reduced our logistics costs，” said Dai， adding the accurate and timely distribution and transportation operations substantially increased production efficiency.

The focus on technological innovation has opened up new markets to the company. So far， it has implemented 23 city transportation infrastructure projects in 14 countries and regions including Cameroon， South Sudan， Nigeria and Kenya.

Located at a key point of the Belt and Road Initiative， proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 to link Asia with Europe and Africa， Nanjing entrepreneurs view innovation as the key that will open the door of new opportunities.

“Infrastructure， an important aspect of cooperation under the initiative， not only brings faster transportation to the countries along the Belt and Road， but also offers them a chance to improve their technology，” Dai told ChinAfrica.

Creating， not just making

Imagine a stroller that could automatically follow the mother when she is holding the baby in her arms， and that could also automatically fold and unfold at the push of a button； or a bed mattress that could keep track of a babys heartbeat and temperature.

These are not fantasies but actual products of Goodbaby， one of the worlds leading durable juvenile products companies in Kunshan Economic and Technological Development Zone in Jiangsu.

Located within the Yangtze River Delta， between Shanghai and Suzhou， Kunshan City used to be a poor county before Chinas reform and opening-up policy was implemented in the late 1970s. Things have changed dramatically since then.

“By insisting on transformation， upgrading and innovation development since the 1980s， Kunshan now ranks No.1 in overall economic competitiveness among over 2，000 county-level cities throughout China，” said Wang Yongjin， Vice President of the Party School of Kunshan Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China.

According to Wang， the engine behind this strong development is the citys economic development zones（EDZs）. First introduced in 1985， EDZs have attracted large amounts of overseas investment， which the city directed toward innovative sectors of the economy.

“Different from other EDZs， Kunshans EDZs focus on innovation， promoting knowledge-based economy and science-technology-dominated development，” Wang said.

Such policy has seen the rise of many innovationbased global companies producing high-value added products like Goodbaby. “Innovation has been a breakthrough for our citys development. Rather than beingmade in Kunshan， our products are really created in Kunshan，” said Wang.

Innovative growth engine

As part of its quest to set itself apart， Jiangsu has also sought to improve Chinas booming e-commerce sector， driven by rapid logistics development and online shopping frenzy underpinned by mobile Internet technologies.

Launched in 1990， Suning is one of the largest home appliances and consumer-electronics retailers in China， with more than 1，700 chain stores across the country. But with the constant rise of online shopping， traditional retailing is facing a crisis. Suning was one of the first traditional retailers in China to embrace change.

In 2009， the company established a storage， transport and distribution network across China， so that when an order is processed， the product can be automatically collected by a robot from the storage shelf， put onto a conveyor belt and readied for shipping to customers.

As Charles and his fellow MBA students saw in the Suning headquarters， a large screen on the wall shows the companys real-time online sales and consumer data.

“It is an innovation for retail industry to combine offline with online platform， which could better satisfy consumers shopping demands，” said Jin Ming， President of Suning.

The use of big data to integrate offline stores， merchandizing， logistics and payment tools is a breakthrough that African and other developing countries can replicate， according to Charles. “E-commerce makes peoples lives so much more convenient. This is a golden time to develop online businesses for global emerging markets，” he said.