On June 7, the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, invested and constructed by Jiangsu Hongdou Group and other Chinese and Cambodian enterprises, ushered in the “Hundred Enterprises Entering the Park” celebration event. This is not only a major node in the development of Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, but also the fruit of eight years of hard work by the builders of Sihanoukville. Site planning began in 2007; in February 2008, Prime Minister Hun Sen laid the foundation stone in person, kicking off the construction of the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone; in 2009, it passed the confirmation assessment of the Ministry of Commerce of China; on April 23, 2015, President Xi Jinping attended the Bandung Conference in Jakarta When meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen during the 60th anniversary commemoration event, he proposed to strengthen infrastructure connectivity and cooperation within the framework of the “Belt and Road” and operate the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone well; now that hundreds of companies have settled in, Prime Minister Hun Sen attended the ceremony in person. Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone, the city of China-Cambodia friendship, has been praised as a model of win-win cooperation on the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. How was the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone created? How to leverage the “Belt and Road” strategy to build the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone better? With these questions, the reporter interviewed Zhou Haijiang, vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce and president of Hongdou Group.
In 2007, Hongdou Group actively responded to the country’s call to “go global” and came to Cambodia with the strong support of China’s Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Finance and other national ministries and commissions, as well as government departments at all levels such as Jiangsu Province and Wuxi City, to join forces with several Wuxi companies. Together with a Cambodian company, we built the 11.13-square-kilometer Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone. They are determined to build the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone into an investment and trade platform that “invests in ASEAN and radiates to the world”. With this platform, they can effectively connect China’s willingness to expand domestic advantageous industries with the staged needs of Cambodia’s local economic development, and pave the way for the transformation of China’s economy. Upgrading and closer economic and trade cooperation between China and Cambodia will also contribute to further improving the livelihood of local people in Cambodia. In order to improve operational efficiency, Hongdou Group, the Chinese controlling shareholder of Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone Company, is fully responsible for all affairs. Zhou Haijiang said frankly that it is also Hongdou Group’s ambition to build the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone into Cambodia’s “Shenzhen” and a model park on the “One Belt, One Road” initiative.
It is not easy to invest in a special economic zone overseas and build a new city from a virgin forest in an unfamiliar place. How to overcome acclimatization and ensure the safety of funds? How to cooperate with local government? How to dispel the doubts of local people and gain support and recognition? …At the beginning of development, a series of problems faced Hongdou Group Company. “Everything is hard-won. At the beginning of the development of the Sihanoukville Special Administrative Region, we rode in a pickup truck every day, under the poisonous sun, measured hand by foot, and repeatedly checked the area with the landowner. The 11.13 square kilometers of the special zone needed to be measured foot by foot, one by one. Negotiation,” Zhou Haijiang said. In addition to overcoming objective obstacles such as land differences and lack of water and electricity, there is also an important resistance coming from the local people. The special zone also faced opposition from local villagers during the land acquisition, on the grounds that there would be no free pasture for cattle grazing once the land was acquired. At that time, a cow was worth US$300, which was almost the family’s annual income. The employees of the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone Company visited each house to persuade them, and finally won the trust of the local people. Nowadays, a large number of factories have been built, and more and more villagers are working in factories in the special zone. Many employees engaged in management can buy a cow with one month’s salary! . Donations to build schools, support education, train skills, provide employment, make charitable donations… the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone has truly become a “rice bowl” for local people.
Starting from scratch and lasting 8 years, 100 companies have entered the park, 148 factories have been built, and 13,000 people have been employed. The Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone has given the answer to the question with a series of fruitful achievements. It is the “win-win” concept that helps developers serve customers Despite many difficulties, the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone has blossomed in Cambodia and received heartfelt support from the local people. By spreading the concept of development, always remembering to benefit the local people, and making the concept of win-win cooperation deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone can become a true model special zone and achieve longer-term and better development. Zhou Haijiang said, “It is precisely because the Sihanoukville Special Administrative Region is firmly rooted among the people and has the support of the common people that we have achieved success.”
Zhou Haijiang believes that regional economic cooperation and economic globalization are the two major trends in today’s world development, which determine the transformation of development models: cross-border development of regions and clustering of project investment. For enterprises, only by strengthening the concept of “win-win” can they adapt to the trend of economic globalization. How to achieve “win-win”? Zhou Haijiang said that the fundamental path is to strive to safeguard the interests of relevant parties and achieve “win-win for all parties.” Investors in the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone headed by Hongdou Group have made it clear from the day they reached a consensus on the joint venture and joint construction that the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone will transform into a “global citizen” and insist on win-win cooperation to make China-Cambodia friendship more important in the “One Belt, One Road” strategy. The next salary is passed down from generation to generation. In the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone project in Cambodia, “working alone” has been changed to “developing as a team”. Chinese companies have jointly developed with Cambodian companies, complementing each other’s advantages and achieving a win-win situation with cooperative shareholders; they have strengthened the infrastructure construction of the park and provided excellent software and hardware. environment, connect enterprises from multiple angles, and connect with enterprises in the park��Win; drive the development of surrounding economies, provide employment, bring changes to the people in terms of infrastructure, living standards, social security, etc., and achieve win-win results with employees and local people; implement public welfare and charity, benefit the development results to the earth, adapt to local conditions and integrate development and win-win results with the local society; seize the strategic opportunities of the “Belt and Road Initiative” to deepen exchanges and cooperation between China and Cambodia in the fields of infrastructure, economy and trade, and achieve win-win results with the government; not at the expense of the natural environment, and actively protect the local Ecological environment, build green and environmentally friendly parks, and achieve win-win results in harmony with nature.
As a bridge for cooperation between China and Cambodia, the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone not only plays a pivotal role in exchanging superior resources between the two countries and promoting economic development, but also serves as a bridge for the “friendship” between the people of China and Cambodia. Based on the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and sharing, the “Belt and Road Initiative” creates an open, inclusive, balanced, and universally beneficial regional economic cooperation structure, practices the sharing of rights and responsibilities, pursues both justice and interests, and pursues harmonious progress. The construction of Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone has always adhered to the concept of “win-win for all parties” and strived to practice the concepts of amity, sincerity, benefit and inclusiveness, and benefited the local area. At the same time, it cooperated with the Cambodian government’s implementation of accelerating agricultural development, strengthening infrastructure construction, attracting more The integration of the “four-corner strategy” of foreign investment and development of human resources builds a community of interests, destiny and responsibility for the people of China and Cambodia to achieve win-win cooperation. The gene of “win-win” has enabled Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone to achieve great changes in eight years and become a model park on the “One Belt, One Road” initiative. And we also have reason to believe that the concept of “win-win” will promote the Sihanoukville Special Economic Zone to be solid and prosperous on the land of Cambodia, with deep roots and luxuriant leaves. As Zhou Haijiang said, the practice of Hongdou Group is instructive for Chinese enterprises “going global” in the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, that is, “not only China wants to win, but also the host country has to win; the host country has to win not only the government If we win, the people must win even more.” “In this way, all our ‘Belt and Road’ projects can be successful.”
