CHINA> Focus
    As old industry bites the dust, new sectors begin to bloom
    By Zhang Haizhou (China Daily)
    Updated: 2008-11-04 07:04

    DONGGUAN, Guangdong -- Carrying a super-large suitcase filled with clothes and a duvet, Yan Libin began his second endeavor as a migrant worker in Dongguan.

    Jumping out of the train on Saturday, the 25-year-old headed directly to a tri-weekly recruitment fair featuring about 100 companies in the square just outside the railway station.

    That was the same place where he easily found a job in a clothing factory six year ago, when he first got to Dongguan.

    But this time, the Hunan native - who left his job in 2005 to help set up an Internet caf in his hometown - was not so lucky.

    "I was surprised to find there were so many recruiters from hi-tech and service industries," Yan said, noting most were from manufacturing enterprises six years ago.

    He is spot on, as Dongguan is undergoing a transformation from a low-cost manufacturing hub to a technology- and capital-intensive production and research center.

    Two decades ago, Dongguan attracted thousands of companies from around the world because of its proximity to Shenzhen and Hong Kong, whose infrastructure it capitalized on. Now it has more than 15,000 overseas-invested firms, most from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

    In comparison with Shenzhen, Dongguan was then a low-cost alternative. However, during the past few years, the city has been struggling with rising labor costs, skyrocketing raw material prices and land shortages.

    "Now, Dongguan is focusing on developing IT, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, environmental-friendly industries, and new material and resources," the city government says on its website.

    The shift in strategy is also putting a question mark over the survival of labor-intensive enterprises. Thousands have already disappeared within a year.

    Southern Metropolis - one of the leading newspapers in South China - reported that about 300 of the nearly 1,000 shoe factories have already gone bankrupt in the city.

    Also, nearly 1,000 overseas-invested factories have closed by June, according to the city's bureau of foreign trade & economic cooperation.

    Perhaps the closure which grabbed most national and international attention was the bankruptcy of Smart Union, a Hong Kong-invested toy maker in Dongguan's Zhangmutou township, which left about 6,500 jobless.

    But the local government "may have already anticipated" the closures of labor-intensive enterprises, according to the Oriental Outlook weekly.

    "There's no need to panic even if 10 factories go bankrupt every day," Luo Zhiqiang of Dongguan's labor bureau was quoted as saying.

    According to Luo, this is a strategy of "emptying the cage for new birds".

    While labor-intensive enterprises put Dongguan on the country's manufacturing map, they also brought about a series of problems, such as pollution.

    Fu'an Print and Dye firm, for example, discharged more than 10 million tons of polluted water each year before it closed down in February, .

    Also, nearly 10 million migrant workers with few skills moved into the city, straining resources and causing social instability.

    "The (more labor-intensive factories go bankrupt), there will be more land for hi-tech and environmental-friendly enterprises," Luo said.

    Jin Fei, an operational manager of a local shoe factory, said labor-intensive factories had been suffering from "internal injuries" for a long time.

    According to him, many of the Pearl Delta Region's shoe factories still rely on a simple production mode of "low cost and low profit".

    He said the profit margin was only between 5 and 8 percent.

    "But raw material costs, staff wages and factory rent have risen dramatically," Jin said.

    "Most shoe factories were nearly dead before the implementation of the new labor contract law since this year," he added.

    According to the Asia Footwear Association, most of the closed factories have moved to other places where production costs are much lower, including inland provinces like Jiangxi and Hunan, and also some Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam and Indonesia.

    The toy making industry faces the same problem. Xinhua News Agency reported last month that 3,631 toy exporters - 52.7 percent of the total - went out of business this year.

    Chen Xiangyou, deputy director of Dongguan Toy Association, said improving research and creating own brands is the only way forward.

    Most enterprises do outsourcing for other brands, according to Chen, and "they have no chance to raise the price of their products".

    He added the association would take the lead to encourage local toy makers develop their own technologies and brands.

     

     

    再看日本中文字幕在线观看| 国产∨亚洲V天堂无码久久久| 国产成人亚洲综合无码精品| 日本中文字幕在线视频一区| 成在人线AV无码免观看麻豆| 亚洲av中文无码乱人伦在线咪咕| 中文字幕丰满伦子无码| 久久久久亚洲av无码专区| 最近免费中文字幕mv电影| 无码乱码观看精品久久| 午夜不卡无码中文字幕影院| 精品久久久无码中文字幕| 亚洲精品无码专区在线播放| 久久久久亚洲AV片无码下载蜜桃| 日韩精品无码一区二区视频| 色婷婷久久综合中文久久蜜桃av | 日本按摩高潮a级中文片| 人妻无码第一区二区三区| 日韩成人无码中文字幕| 最近2022中文字幕免费视频| 亚洲中文字幕无码爆乳av中文| 狠狠躁天天躁无码中文字幕| 无码少妇一区二区三区| 在线高清无码A.| 无码AV动漫精品一区二区免费| 亚洲日本欧美日韩中文字幕| 中文字幕人妻无码一夲道 | 精品久久人妻av中文字幕| 无码色AV一二区在线播放| 成人无码午夜在线观看| 激情无码人妻又粗又大中国人 | 亚洲乱码中文字幕手机在线| 无码超乳爆乳中文字幕久久| 中文字幕亚洲综合小综合在线 | 最近2019中文免费字幕在线观看 | 日本阿v视频高清在线中文| 亚洲AV永久无码天堂影院| 亚洲AV无码乱码在线观看性色扶| 亚洲AV无码成人精品区大在线| 无码任你躁久久久久久 | 中文字幕一精品亚洲无线一区|