[Alumni Interview] Liao Jian: Guardian of the “City of Innovation”
Reporter Zhu Yuxin
Liao Jian, the former director of the Secretariat of China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park and the former head of the Suzhou Industrial Park Office for Learning from Singapore’s Experience. In 1992, he went to Suzhou and devoted himself to the entire construction process of Suzhou Industrial Park. In 1998, he studied economics at the w88 casino.
Suzhou, the ancient city of Suzhou under the misty rain in the south of the Yangtze River, has the beauty of the water towns in the south of the Yangtze River and the elegance of the pavilions and pavilions. Historically, Suzhou has always been a consumer city focusing on the development of agriculture. However, today's Suzhou, with roaring machines and busy traffic, has suddenly become a per capita cityGDPA modern capital that surpasses Shanghai and Beijing. These earth-shaking changes all stem from the rise of an "innovation city" on a swamp in the east of the ancient city - China Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park. Liao Jian, as the first Secretary General of Suzhou Industrial Park, has risen in Suzhou24In these years, I have been breathing the same breath and sharing the same destiny with this ancient city in the south of the Yangtze River that has a history of 2,500 years.
Seize the opportunity and move forward firmly
1976Years ago, Liao Jian went to work in the countryside in Suzhou. It was this time that made him develop an indissoluble bond with this city. After personally experiencing local life and having in-depth contact with local farmers, Liao Jian deeply understood the difficulties and hopes of Suzhou, and a seed of building Suzhou was deeply buried in his heart.1976Year11In August, the Cultural Revolution ended, and Liao Jian returned to work in the city's government agencies. When life gradually returns to calm,16Years later, he embarked on a journey to Suzhou again because of an important piece of news - the construction of the Zhongxin Industrial Park.
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The road to reform is not smooth sailing, and the establishment of the Sino-Singapore Industrial Park is also full of difficulties. In the early days of reform and opening up, domestic thinking was not yet unified, and it was difficult to reach a conclusion on whether we should learn from the world. As a result, the advancement of many reform projects was seriously hampered by insufficient material support from the government, and China-Singapore Industrial Park was one of them. To this end, Liao Jian led his team to "run" department by department and "do work" layer by layer. He even submitted a research report to the central government detailing the necessity of building an industrial park. “All hard work pays off”, and the central government finally expressed its support for the construction of the China-Singapore Industrial Park.
After the ideological front was unified, fierce competition between regions became another problem for Liao Jian. As a "land of plenty", Suzhou's agricultural development is still underdeveloped and its industrial base is very weak. As rival cities, Weifang City, Yantai City and Weihai City in Shandong Province, the competition for the establishment of joint venture industrial parks is quite fierce. However, as he said: "Be brave when the opportunity comes, seize it and never let it go." Liao Jian and his team were unwilling to give up. When Lee Kuan Yew's team came to Suzhou, the then mayor of Suzhou proposed the core construction core of "focusing on one point", which received strong support from Lee Kuan Yew. Finally, the Sino-Singapore Industrial Park settled in Suzhou, turning Suzhou's development to a new page.
Emancipate the mind, open to learning
More than a hundred years ago, Lin Zexu proposed "opening your eyes to see the world", and China took steps to learn from the world. More than a hundred years later, the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee proposed reform and opening up, and China once again opened its arms to the world. It is against this background that the Suzhou Industrial Park jointly built by China and New Zealand came into being.
Singapore is short of land resources and fresh water. However, despite extremely limited natural resources, Singapore persisted in establishing itself as a country with foreign investment and ultimately achieved brilliant results. At that time, Singapore was struggling to find investment locations to become self-reliant, and the development of Suzhou also needed the support of foreign capital. Both sides had the same culture19949365_9598
Funds are the basis for urban development. Therefore, Suzhou Industrial Park has introduced a large amount of foreign capital to assist the development of the park. But doubts have arisen: Will using large amounts of foreign capital infringe on China's interests? Will the park be controlled by foreign capital, thereby affecting China's right to speak? With his keen insight, Liao Jian took Singapore's development model as an example and explained to a skeptical voice: "It is not terrible to use foreign capital. Foreign capital is the fuse that triggers the great development of China's private enterprises. There are only advantages and no disadvantages." He also put forward the constructive point of view of "staying true to the old roots, grafting new branches, not seeking everything, but seeking where it is", striving to break down obstacles in the use of foreign capital and maximize the effectiveness of foreign capital. In the end, with the joint efforts of Liao Jian and his team, the development model of the Sino-Singapore joint venture was recognized by the central government and obtained many development privileges such as customs green channel and provincial industrial and commercial management rights, which broadened the path for the further development of Suzhou Industrial Park.
The achievements of Suzhou Industrial Park are also inseparable from the advanced "pro-business concept" of its leadership team. Liao Jian has always maintained absolute support for foreign-funded enterprises and private enterprises, and has repeatedly mentioned the important role of small and medium-sized enterprises and their operations that state-owned enterprises can learn from. "The pro-business concept is the foundation for joining the global economic tide." Suzhou Industrial Park has created a good soil for multinational companies and private enterprises to take root and sprout in Suzhou by building a public service platform, simplifying government procedures, and creating a pro-business environment.
Liao Jian emphasized "openness" many times during the interview. Whether it is externally or internally, Suzhou always maintains an open, learning and reference attitude, which is why Suzhou can be the best city in the countryGDPOne of the important factors of fifth place’s economic status.
Embrace the future with courage
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As an alumnus of the University of International w88 and Economics, Liao Jian made many suggestions on the future development direction to the students of the University of International w88 and Economics. He believes that we must first "know ourselves and the enemy." Liao Jian strongly supports the students of the University of w88 and Economics to focus more on real life after systematically mastering book knowledge, and gain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the real process of economic development in China and the world through social practice, study tours, etc. Such experiences will benefit people for life. “In the past, we combined theory with practice, but now we need to understand the world but also ourselves, especially the experience and knowledge accumulated by our own country during the 40 years of reform and opening up,” Liao Jian said. Even though the current social practice activities of students are affected by the lack of local reception capacity and the lack of suitable mentors, as young people in the new era, they need to "work harder" on their own.
In addition, Liao Jian also emphasized that students need to always think independently: "All kinds of knowledge have side effects. You must melt knowledge through your own thinking and turn it into your own power." Liao Jian also put forward thoughts on the relationship between tradition and innovation. He said that it is not advisable to blindly respect tradition. But tradition cannot be ignored in the process of innovation. He pointed out that the development of Suzhou that integrates tradition and innovation is the best example. The last point Liao Jian emphasized was the importance of courage. He believes that people cannot "leave a way out" for themselves, and only by "breaking the boat" can they go further. In the end, Liao Jian expressed the Suzhou Industrial Park’s warm welcome to the outstanding students from the University of w88 and Economics, and he looked forward to seeing more people from the University of w88 and Economic Development coming to Suzhou for development.
The documentary "City of Innovation" said: "The establishment of Suzhou Industrial Park is a dazzling new chapter in Suzhou's reform and opening up. It is a high ground for Suzhou's economic and social development and has laid a solid foundation for China's reform. Openness creates fresh experiences and has important ideological value. "Liao Jian buried the roots of innovation and openness in Suzhou, and achieved the glory of Suzhou with his foresight. He devoted his whole life to the transformation of Suzhou. He is the most beautiful guardian of this "city of innovation."
