China’s Zhejiang solidly pushes forward construction of common prosperity demonstration zone

East China’s Zhejiang Province has taken vigorous measures to advance the high-quality development of 26 mountainous counties and narrow the development gaps between various areas in the province.

The province is solidly pushing forward the construction of a common prosperity demonstration zone according to a plan issued by the State Council in May 2021 which says that “New progress will be made each year and major breakthroughs should be made in five years, in advancing construction of the project, with the demonstration zone to be basically built in 15 years.”

Zhejiang has built 79 industrial parks which are dedicated to advancing common prosperity. Of these industrial parks, 37 have helped more than 3,000 villages increase their collective incomes by a total of more than 400 million yuan ($59.76 million).

At a dried noodle workshop in Gouxi township, Quzhou city, Zhejiang, Chen Jiasheng, owner of the business, was drying noodles. “The Yuhang district of Hangzhou city, the provincial capital, helped me build the workshop. I can earn about 400 to 500 yuan a day when I do a roaring trade,” said Chen.

Zhejiang Duma Sewing Machine Co., Ltd. is located in the Jiaojiang district of Taizhou city, Zhejiang. The production line of the company, which boasts various high-efficiency manufacturing equipment, is able to produce a cabinet in just one minute.

Days ago, the company received a big order for sewing machines. Due to the problem of capital turnover, the company encountered difficulties in keeping up with the order.

The taxation bureau of the Jiaojiang district, which used big data to monitor the operations of companies located in the district, found that Zhejiang Duma Sewing Machine Co., Ltd. was eligible to enjoy preferential tax and fee policies. In just half a day, the bureau granted a subsidy of more than 1 million yuan ($148,700) to enable the company to expand its production capacity.

“By the end of 2021, there were 8.68 million market entities in Zhejiang, an increase of 652,000 compared with the previous year. In the first quarter of 2022, the value added of private companies among all industrial companies above the designated size in the province rose 11 percent year-on-year,” introduced an official with the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Reform Commission.

Photo shows raspberries on sale at a village in Linqi township, Chun’an county, Hangzhou. (Photo/Xinhua)

On May 13, a raspberry festival was held in Linqi township, Chun’an county, Hangzhou. Credible sources say there are 21,000 mu (1,400 hectares) of raspberry plantations in the township, with the planting business being able to provide jobs for over 300 people and generate over 5,000 yuan of income a year for each person involved in the business. “The raspberry is a cash cow for us,” said a local villager.

In 2021, the pace of growth of rural residents’ income was 1.2 percentage points faster than that of urban residents in Zhejiang, while the pace of growth of low-income villagers’ income was 4.4 percentage points faster than that of the average villager in the province.

In addition, Zhejiang has taken measures to lift the minimum wage at a steady pace and has pushed for reasonable income growth for low-income workers, especially frontline workers. In February 2022, the Zhejiang Provincial Human Resources and Social Security Department set the targets of creating over 5 million new urban jobs and raising the highest monthly minimum wage to about 3,000 yuan, by 2025.