Weifang upgrades services for better business

High-tech industrial development zone looks to provide the most efficient management processes for its enterprises, local residents

The Weifang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone is streamlining the services it provides for businesses so they can carry out their operations with greater efficiency and attract more investment.

"In 2019, we invested another 55 million yuan ($8.02 million) to upgrade our production technologies. We saw our sales revenue double in 2019," said Zhang Fangyan, general manager of Shandong BeBright Semicon-Tech.

Zhang said the zone's premium business environment and government services make businesses feel positive about the future.

In recent years, the zone has constructed an online platform enabling business matters to be processed at a single window, within a specified time, and without the need for a second visit. The platform enables data sharing among different government departments and keeps records of all operations.

"Shandong Tianrui Heavy Industry has achieved outstanding results, thanks to the zone's premium startup environment," said Li Yongsheng, founder of the company.

Tianrui, which was set up in 2008, has unlocked strong growth potential and now many of its technological upgrade projects have been named as provincial-level innovative programs.

Premium government services have become an advantage in attracting businesses in recent years. In 2019, the zone had 183 key business projects with total investment of 127 billion yuan under construction.

Weichai Group, a leading Chinese heavy-duty truck and components developer, celebrated the groundbreaking of the Weichai International Engine Component Industrial Park in July. The 2,000-hectare industrial park, involving more than 200 billion yuan in investment, is projected to have more than 500 auto components suppliers engaged in sectors such as hydrogen fuel cells, smart products and electronics. The total investment of the industrial park is 100 billion yuan and the annual tax from these businesses is expected to exceed 30 billion yuan, according to official statistics.

Goertek, an acoustics solutions and smart hardware provider headquartered in Weifang Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, is constructing a smart hardware industrial park at a total cost of 11.6 billion yuan.

In 2019, improving people's lives became another key task of the zone's government. A total of 20.9 billion yuan was invested in 106 local livelihood projects covering food safety, education, healthcare, living environment and government services.

In the battle against poverty, 104 government officials in the zone were assigned to take care of poor families.

The zone also introduced several healthcare projects to bring premium medical services to local residents. Sunshine Union Hospital was upgraded into a top-level hospital in the region. A healthcare center for kids and women is under construction.

Support programs were set up for families living on a subsistence allowance in 2019.

Members in qualified families can get 580 yuan per person monthly. Subsidies are available to uremia patients who need to take dialysis and stroke patients who need to take recovery programs. Children under 1 year old and elderly people above 70 can get chickenpox vaccines and flu vaccines for free, respectively.

Qi Jun, deputy director of the department of nephrology at the zone's People's Hospital, said every uremia patient can apply for a 150-yuan subsidy each time they need dialysis treatment.

"Patients' families have less financial burden with the subsidy," Qi said.

Last year, 20,070 residential properties were built for people to relocate. More schools were built to provide about 9,600 positions for students.