CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Friday, August 30, 2019 | 7

years onYEARS ON FUJIAN

Editor's note: As the People’s Republic of China prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary on Oct 1, China Daily is featuring a series of stories on the role regions have played in the country’s development and where they are today.

By XU WEI and HU MIEDONG rackets — in a bid to expand its earn­ in Quanzhou, Fujian ings beyond China. Fluent in Chinese and seasoned in Port city revives past glories Reviving ancient links bargaining, Mohammed Al­Sabri Quanzhou was the largest port in cuts a popular figure as he roams China from the Song Dynasty to the between different stores at a bus­ Yuan Dynasty (1271­1368), when the tling clothing mall. A central player in the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road strategy, Quanzhou is country shipped ceramics, tea and The 34­year­old Yemeni’s busi­ leveraging old and new links to spread its global reach other products via ports along its ness is to help his clients from the southeast coastal route to Southeast Middle East place purchase orders Asia, the Middle East and Europe. with factories and stores in Shishi, a Ceramics and tea remain integral coastal city administered by Quan­ parts of the city’s exports today, espe­ zhou, Fujian province. cially countries taking part in the Al­Sabri has honed his skills and BRI. Ceramics produced in Dehua, built up contacts over more than a another county administered by decade in China. “For most clients, Quanzhou, are exported to more they look for products with the best than 190 countries and regions. The design, quality and price. That is total volume of ceramic exports to exactly what they can find here,” he BRI countries reached $43.5 million said. last year, up by 29.8 percent year­on­ Al­Sabri is one of thousands of year, according to Dehua govern­ Arabs exploring business opportuni­ ment statistics. ties at Shishi, a major manufactur­ Zheng Pengfei, general manager ing hub for fashion apparel. He of Shunmei Group, a major ceram­ follows in the steps of thousands of ics producer in Dehua, said coun­ Arab merchants who were doing tries along the 21st Century business in the city as early as the Maritime Silk Road constitute a Song Dynasty (960­1279), and travel­ major market for its products. The ing a trade route later to become BRI has helped the company known as the Maritime Silk Road. expand its circle of contacts and With its robust foreign trade, business opportunities, Zheng said. strong private sector and booming “The reason for the lasting popu­ maritime transport, Fujian authori­ larity of our products lies in our ties are looking to revive the ancient understanding of the cultures of dif­ trade route with measures boosting ferent countries. We’ve received connectivity and encouraging busi­ more clients from BRI countries in nesses to go global. recent years, and we’ve had closer A policy document released by exchanges with our clients,” he said. the central government in 2015, Wu Rongshan, chairman of Sanhe named the province as a core area Group, a tea producer based in Anxi for the development of the 21st Two businessmen from the Middle East visit a leather jacket shop at a market in Shishi, Fujian province. HU MEIDONG / CHINA DAILY county, said the company is invest­ Century Maritime Silk Road, the ing 20 million yuan a year to pro­ sea route component of the Belt mote tea culture in Europe. and Road Initiative. economic volume and contributed Area: 121,600 square kilometers Annual per capita disposable The company has already estab­ Quanzhou, with the highest GDP 88.1 percent of GDP growth. income of urban residents lished tea culture societies in univer­ of any city in Fujian for the past 20 “The city’s long tradition of sea Unit: yuan 42,121 sities in Rome, Venice and Lyons. It is 2018 39.41 50000 ($5,897) years, was named the lead area for transport and doing business has 2018 eying cooperation with coffee shops the 21st Century Maritime Silk injected vitality into business Fuzhou 40000 to further promote its products. Road. The city has already seen its activities. We also have genera­ Renowned for its deepwater ports, efforts paying off via closer trade tions of entrepreneurs empowered Fujian 30000 17,961 Quanzhou has boosted its maritime Population and economic cooperation with by the spirit of daring to win,” 20000 2008 transportation links in recent years. Unit: million 6,486 economies involved in the BRI. Huang said. 1,236 Last year, its ports registered total 10000 371 1998 The total trade volume with BRI The most important priority for 2008 36.39 cargo transportation volume of 3.74 1978 1988 countries reached 84.9 billion yuan authorities is to create an enabling 0 million metric tons, up 3.77 percent ($11.8 billion) last year, up 20.3 per­ environment for businesses to pros­ Annual per capita disposable year­on­year, according to official cent year­on­year, according to the per. Forest area（Unit: million hectares） income of rural residents statistics. Forest coverage percent municipal bureau of commerce. “We only make our presence felt （Unit: ） Unit: yuan 17,821 Wei Changhua, a manager at The total volume of overseas to businesses when we are needed. ($2,495) Quanzhou Pacific Container, said Shi­ 20000 2018 investment by Quanzhou business­ Otherwise we leave them undis­ 1998 32.99 2018 8.12 66.8 hu Port in Shishi, which is managed es in countries involved with the turbed,” Huang said. 15000 by the company, has prioritized the maritime trade route reached $770 The clothing mall in Shishi was 2008 7.67 63.1 development of shipping routes to a 6,196 million in August, while 1,600 busi­ included in a pilot program launched 10000 number of countries in Southeast 1998 7.35 60.52 2008 nesses from BRI countries have by seven central government depart­ 2,946 Asia in recent years as part of efforts 43.18 5000 invested $2.5 billion in the city. ments to enable quicker customs 1988 5 138 613 1998 to expand the shipping network to “For private businesses, the 21st clearance and cutting of red tape. 1978 1988 countries involved in the BRI. 39.5 Century Maritime Silk Road has Expats doing business in Quan­ 1988 29.29 1978 4.5 0 Exports from the port, such as tex­ offered them better opportunities to zhou have been the primary benefi­ tiles, shoes, handicrafts and frozen expand their international opera­ ciaries of the program. GDP fish, enjoy huge popularity in the tions,” said Huang Tingyu, deputy Mohammed Mokhtar Sallam, a Unit: billion Southeast Asian market, and the head of the commerce bureau. 55­year­old Saudi Arabian, placed yuan 3580.4 port will expand its anchorage space ($501.3 billion) 1082.31 “It will make it safer and easier for a $3 million order for clothing dur­ 2018 315.99 to accommodate expanding cargo them to pursue their overseas invest­ ing a recent trip to the clothing 2008 imports and exports, he said. 1978 24.46 1998 38.32 ment.” mall in Shishi. 1988 6.64 Wei noted that a majority of ship­ He made his first trip to China in 1978 ping companies operating from Shi­ Booming trade 1994. Sallam said China’s recent hu were family businesses. A major producer of textiles, efforts to streamline customs clear­ Source: Fujian Provincial Bureau of Statistics MUKESH MOHANAN / CHINA DAILY “We are only looking to boost our clothing, shoes and building materi­ ance procedures and closer ties trade volume and revive the glories als, Quanzhou had GDP of 846.8 bil­ between the two countries had ben­ time here in Shishi because I can Quanzhou are increasingly eyeing moves, Anta Sports Products, based of the past,” he said. lion yuan last year, up 8.9 percent efited his trade. find products with good prices and the global market for mergers and in Jinjiang, this year led a $5.3 bil­ year­on­year. Private businesses “I was only granted a visa for a quality,” he said. acquisitions. lion acquisition of Finland’s Amer Contact the writers at accounted for 82.1 percent of the stay of 30 days. I spend most of my Some private businesses in In one of the most high­profile Sports — the maker of Wilson tennis [email protected] Where religions live side by side

By XU WEI and mosques is an indica­ and HU MEIDONG tion of the city’s long and 200,000 in Quanzhou, Fujian rich history. It also showcas­ es the city’s inclusive people Every Friday, the Qingjing nature,” said Zhang Lian­ from other provinces visit Mosque in Quanzhou, Fuji­ zhu, director of the the Qingjing Mosque in an province, welcomes hun­ mosque’s office. Quanzhou, Fujian dreds of Muslims attending Zhang said the mosque province, every year. prayers. Among them are has always been important dozens of foreign visitors. to Chinese Muslims. Each Left: A foreign visitor tries on a skirt made from ceramic plates at a Shunmei Group showroom in Dehua county, Fuji­ A few blocks away are year, it receives around be buried, Zhang added. an. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY Right: A Shunmei saleswoman displays a ceramic Santa Claus in Dehua. WEI PEIQUAN / XINHUA scattered several different 200,000 visitors from other The city’s Muslim tradition places of worship, including provinces and regions with can be traced back to the Song a Confucian temple and the large Muslim populations. (960­1279) and Yuan (1271­ Kaiyuan Temple, a Buddhist Many come to Quanzhou 1368) dynasties when over Cultural sensitivity key to ceramics market temple dating back to 685, not just to pray, but to visit 100,000 Arab and Persian built during the Tang the Islamic cemetery, where merchants converged on the By XU WEI and HU MEIDONG the company was able to implant cultural ue of the industry reached 32.9 billion Dynasty (618­907). two Islamic saints from the metropolis, bringing with in Dehua, Fujian elements in its ceramic products to target yuan ($4.6 billion) this year, according “The mixture of temples seventh century are said to them commodities such as potential buyers. to the county government. spices and their religious Sitting in front of her computer screen, “We need to make sure that there is a The fact that the handiwork has been beliefs via the Maritime Silk Lai Jinxing is fine­tuning the details of a story behind each product, and a passed from generation to generation Road. reindeer handicraft to be ready for sale in meaning behind each story. That is ensures continuity of skills, Zheng said. Quanzhou Maritime Muse­ Western markets by Christmas next year. how we ensure we can associate with In order to ensure its products can meet um has the largest collection Every detail of the reindeer, including our consumers,” he said. the demands of the latest popular culture of Islamic and Hindu grave­ its stylization and color, must be con­ “We never need to worry about the and consumer tastes, designers work on stones, capstones and firmed with the buyer. A final design is sale of products that suit the culture of products a year before they are due to be inscriptions in the country, then produced on a 3D printer for the the destination country.” released on the market. This includes according to Xinhua News customer’s approval. With a ceramics­making history dating products for Easter, Halloween, Thanks­ Agency. Lai is a designer at the Shunmei Group, back 3,600 years, Dehua was named as a giving and Christmas. Even today, there are still a ceramics company in Dehua, Fujian World Craft City for Porcelain by the “It is crucial that we anticipate what about 50,000 descendants province, which exports 80 percent of its World Crafts Council in 2015. the trends will be one year later,” he of Arabs and Persians in products to European and US markets. The county, home to more than 3,000 said, adding that the company’s cooper­ Quanzhou, according to the “Our core competitiveness lies in our ceramic companies, claims to be China’s ation with The Walt Disney Company municipal government. innovation capacities,” said Zheng Peng­ largest porcelain­handiwork manufac­ and Universal Studios helped its In Shishi, a city with a large fei, the general manager of the company. turer and exporter, with 65 percent of its designers predict trends. number of Arabs conducting The company sold its products in more ceramic products sold overseas. The company’s efforts to obtain interna­ foreign trade, a new mosque than 100 countries last year, and its total In Dehua, half of the population, tional accreditation for its products and was built to accommodate exports reached $20 million. about 350,000, is engaged in the production lines have also helped it win The Qingjing Mosque in Quanzhou, Fujian, is important their religious activities, Through its product design, Zheng said ceramics industry. The total output val­ the trust of international buyers, he added. to Chinese Muslims. HU MEIDONG / CHINA DAILY Zhang added.