Local authorities support specialist sectors

China’s local authorities have introduced advanced technologies and intensified efforts to promote specialized industries to give new impetus to the country’s rural revitalization initiative.

At the Yihao Industrial Co Ltd factory, workers carve jade using intelligent computer-controlled equipment.

Bai Zhen, the company’s head, said Yihao Industrial is one of more than 20,000 jade jewelry manufacturers based in Zhenping County, Henan Province, central China.

Known as the “hometown of Chinese jade carvings”, Zhenping boasts a history of over 4,000 years of jade processing.

“In the past, we could only carve jade by hand, but now it is completely different,” Bai said.

He added that the tasks of cutting, polishing and waxing jadeite are now performed by smart devices.

“Traditional carving techniques have caused many quality control problems, while smart equipment can not only increase our productivity but also significantly contribute to local industrial transformation,” Bai said.

He also said that smart equipment has caused a surge in electricity demand.

As a result, State Grid Corp of China, a state-owned power utility, has been actively making progress in upgrading the local power grid in recent years, thereby ensuring stable and reliable power supply.

As the scale of the jade industry increases, there are 12 jade jewelry markets and more than 40,000 jade jewelry stores in Zhenping, both online and offline, offering jobs to nearly 400,000 residents.

Besides, jade carvers are gradually turning to new fields such as material selection, marketing, jewelry appreciation and management, which has greatly expanded the local industrial network.

Currently, Zhenping’s jade industry has reached a total production value of 100 billion yuan ($13.8 billion), and its sales account for more than 40 percent of the total domestic value.

Meanwhile, in Zhongwei in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, farmers are using an agro-industrial park to experiment with the latest cultivation techniques and develop specialized agriculture.

Huang Faguo, owner of a greenhouse in the park, said he introduced a number of new strawberry growing techniques last year.

Huang said it uses advanced equipment to filter water before irrigation, which improves the size and flavor of the strawberries. Fruit ripening is also significantly advanced.

Huang said the greenhouse’s production value is expected to more than triple this year, reaching 400,000 yuan.

According to Huang, the agro-industrial park, built jointly by 11 villages in 2020 with a total investment of 18 million yuan, has successfully supported several specialized industries, from cold-tolerant vegetable cultivation to facility-based agriculture.

The state grid also contributed to the park’s success by regularly sending staff to check advanced agricultural equipment and quickly address any electrical hazards.

Their moves followed China’s publication of Central Document No. 1 in February, which highlighted continued efforts to build a modern industrial system in rural areas by developing specialized industries and cultivating famous brands.

The document also stated that China would provide more technological support to agriculture. It will accelerate the construction of major innovation platforms and encourage more high-tech talent to work in rural areas.

Wei Houkai, director of the Institute of Rural Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the country should create better conditions for the development of rural industries.

Meanwhile, rural areas should continue to form more industrial clusters based on local characteristics and promote the integration of primary, secondary and tertiary industries, Wei said.