Why Wuhan has won the favor of foreign investment (Big Data Observation · Investing in China)
As a global provider of differentiated technology in the automotive industry, Garrett Wuhan Innovation Center was put into operation in Donghu New Technology Development Zone, Wuhan, Hubei last year. Since its first factory was established in Wuhan in 2012, Garrett has increased its capital for the third time in the local area and is deeply integrating into the construction of the "vehicle core component key technology" industrial ecosystem in Hubei.
As of now, Wuhan has established over 9000 foreign-invested legal entities, with 311 of the Fortune Global 500 companies investing here. By 2025, there will be 428 newly established foreign-invested enterprises in Wuhan, with a year-on-year increase of 5.2%. The proportion of foreign investment utilized in high-tech industries will reach 55.4%.
How has Wuhan won the favor of foreign-funded enterprises over the years? Recently, reporters visited multiple foreign companies to explore Wuhan's "magnetic attraction" towards foreign investment.
Optimization of investment policies
Improve foreign investment services and create clusters for small and medium-sized foreign-funded enterprises
Not long ago, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Swiss Anberg Technology Company, Anberg Technology (Wuhan) Co., Ltd., was established in Wuhan Donghu New Technology Development Zone. Finally, we have taken root in China. Previously, we did not have any subsidiaries in China, and many of our ideas were difficult to implement, "said Mueller, CEO of Anberg Technologies. A year ago, the company decided to establish its Asia Pacific headquarters in China, and the Wuhan Donghu New Technology Development Zone, known as the "China Optics Valley," became one of the options.
In addition to the excellent location and talent advantages of the nine provinces' thoroughfare and numerous universities, what made Anberg determined was the heartwarming policies and attentive services of the local government departments.
As soon as we learned about our plan to establish a subsidiary, the Wuhan Investment Promotion Bureau took the initiative to contact us, arranged to visit the industrial park, and organized a delegation to visit the company to help us understand the Chinese market. Mueller introduced that the Wuhan Donghu New Technology Development Zone also actively assisted the company in connecting with banks and solving problems such as opening accounts for foreign employees; Take them to visit office buildings and business districts multiple times, and provide detailed recommendations for local customs brokers and other services.
The differences in relevant standards between China and Switzerland have brought some difficulties in the process of household registration. For example, when signing documents with foreign parties in China, the unit must affix its official seal. In Switzerland, many documents can be signed by authorized personnel, which makes it difficult for the foreign team of the company to understand at the moment. The staff of Donghu New Technology Development Zone provided timely assistance, patiently explained the domestic process, and guided us step by step in carrying out company registration and other work, "said Mao Junyu, General Manager of Anberg Technology (Wuhan) Co., Ltd. In just three months, the company not only successfully settled down, but also completed the migration of Swiss business to Optics Valley.
In order to serve foreign-funded enterprises well, Optics Valley issued the "Ten Measures for Foreign Investment" as early as 2017, providing a package of support plans in 10 aspects including admission, household registration, research and development, and rent. In the past 9 years, the "Ten Measures for Foreign Investment" have been continuously upgraded, with new provisions such as "encouraging green and low-carbon", "improving foreign investment services", and "building a cluster of small and medium-sized foreign-funded enterprises". Currently, Donghu New Technology Development Zone has gathered nearly 1400 foreign-funded enterprises, including nearly 100 Fortune 500 companies.
As the world's largest optical communication research and development base, Optics Valley has gathered over 300 optoelectronic enterprises, and Anberg is highly compatible with the industrial advantages here. Mao Junyu introduced that the company has developed nearly 20 strategic partners in Optics Valley from research and development partners, technical service support, component procurement to import and export business.
Upgrading innovation capability
Focusing on cutting-edge fields and moving towards the source of technological change
On the automated headlight production line, one mechanical arm after another moves flexibly, and the handling robots shuttle back and forth. At the smart factory of Faurecia Guangguang (China) Automotive Lighting Co., Ltd. located in Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, after pre installation, plasma flame treatment, adhesive coating and other continuous operations, only 36 seconds are needed to produce one vehicle light offline.
As early as 1995, Faurecia established its first car headlight factory in Wuhan Economic Development Zone, with processes such as injection molding, coating, and final assembly. Faurecia's production system manager, Xiao Yuan, explained that over the past 30 years, from the initial manual operation to the introduction of new technologies and equipment such as sensors, robots, and elevators, the factory's production efficiency has continuously improved, with nearly 4 million car headlights sent from here to various parts of the world every year.
Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, known as the "Valley of Chinese Cars", was built for a Sino French joint venture project of 300000 cars. Over the past 30 years, it has gathered nearly 500 foreign-funded enterprises and become one of the most densely populated areas for foreign-funded enterprises in Hubei Province. In recent years, Wuhan Economic Development Zone has made breakthroughs in the development of new energy and intelligent connected vehicles, placing automotive components in an equally important position as the entire vehicle and creating a more resilient automotive industry supply chain.
Following the footsteps of Wuhan Economic Development Zone's transformation and upgrading, Valeo continues to increase capital and expand production here. In recent years, it has also settled its global software technology center and the world's largest research and development center here, achieving significant growth in output value.
In the past, we used our low-cost advantage to lay out the manufacturing end in Wuhan, and almost all of our core management and technical personnel were French expatriate executives. Nowadays, many Chinese people have taken up management and technical positions, and all advanced equipment can be researched and developed in Wuhan, and technology can be exported to Europe and the United States in reverse. "said Zhang Feng, President of Valeo Lighting China. The company has driven the development of 33 local suppliers, of which 8 have come to Hubei to invest and build factories with Valeo's business expansion.
In recent years, a group of internationally renowned automotive parts companies such as ZF from Germany, Anbofu from Ireland, Effie from France, Autoliv from Sweden, and Visteon from the United States have established global R&D centers in Wuhan, involving cutting-edge fields such as autonomous driving and automotive chips. Wuhan is becoming one of the birthplaces of global automotive technology transformation.
Complete service guarantee
Establish normalized communication channels to empower enterprise innovation and development throughout the entire cycle
For more than 10 years, Garrett has always regarded Wuhan as our second hometown in China, "said Zhang Yue, Garrett's Global Vice President and General Manager of China. The Wuhan Innovation Center will continue to enhance the company's global technological layout capabilities, consolidate differentiated technological advantages, and continue to increase strategic investment in the future, deeply integrating into the ecological construction of Hubei's automotive industry.
Garrett Group, headquartered in Rolle, Switzerland, has a deep accumulation in turbocharging technology and its products are widely used in passenger cars, commercial vehicles, construction machinery, ships, generators and other fields. Since settling in Wuhan in 2012, the first phase of the factory has developed rapidly. After the expansion of the second phase, cutting-edge technologies such as high-speed production lines and full process tracking systems have been introduced to promote intelligent production. The factory's production capacity has achieved a compound annual growth rate of over 30%.
During the process of enterprise development and growth, the government departments at both the urban and rural levels in Wuhan provided precise services throughout the entire cycle for Garrett. From the special docking mechanism in the early stage of the project to the key resource coordination in the expansion stage, the government is guided by the needs of enterprises, establishes regular communication channels, and ensures the precise implementation of various support policies, "said Zhang Yue.
Garrett's precision manufacturing production line requires continuous operation 24/7, and the government department coordinates with the power supply company to customize a "dual power" power supply solution for the factory; In recent years, the company has been deeply cultivating high-speed electric drive technology for new energy vehicles, and the government has provided continuous support in multiple dimensions such as laboratory technology transformation, scientific research project approval, and R&D investment rewards. At the same time, Optics Valley has also established a "one-on-one" technology specialist system, regularly visiting the front line of enterprise research and development, understanding the needs of enterprises in facilities, technological breakthroughs, and talent introduction, and coordinating resources in a timely manner.
Garrett hydrogen fuel cell air compressors have now been applied to leading enterprises in the industry. Since last year, its high-speed electric drive technology and electric cooling compressor technology have cooperated with related enterprises and been widely applied in the field of new energy vehicles.
At present, Wuhan has established systems such as municipal level foreign enterprise roundtable meetings and foreign enterprise service commissioners to respond to concerns and provide services in a timely manner; Realize the full process online registration of foreign-funded enterprises, and foreigners holding permanent residence identity cards can apply for enterprise establishment and change registration online; Fully implement the "1050" standard for the establishment of foreign-invested enterprises, which means "one application, 0.5 day completion, and zero fees", making foreign investment more convenient.