In order to thoroughly study and implement the guiding principles of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech during his inspection tour in Zhejiang, as well as to carry out the decisions and arrangements of the Central Economic Work Conference and the provincial Party committee and government, and in line with the unified arrangements of the municipal Party committee, municipal leaders have recently conducted intensive visits to foreign trade and foreign-invested enterprises. These visits aim to understand enterprise operations, gather opinions and suggestions, respond to development demands, and solve practical difficulties. They further assist enterprises in accurately grasping changes in the external environment and strengthen the confidence and determination of enterprises in Lishui to cope with external challenges, jointly promoting high-quality development of foreign economic and trade activities, and contributing more to the overall stability and progress of Zhejiang Province with Lishui’s own “stability” and “progress”.

On April 25 and 28, Wu Shunze, Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee, presided over a symposium for foreign trade enterprises in the city and conducted field visits to Zhejiang Songxin Automotive Air Conditioning Parts Co., Ltd. and Longquan Craftsmanship Celadon Co., Ltd. (Jiang’s Swords) in Longquan. He emphasized that all localities and departments should adhere to the philosophy that “praise from entrepreneurs is the true praise”, adopt extraordinary measures to respond to unexpected circumstances, stand together with enterprises through thick and thin, and jointly implement a combination of strategies for stabilization, expansion, adjustment, and optimization. Solid efforts must be made to ensure that enterprise-support policies are promptly and effectively delivered, thereby fueling enterprise development and solving their difficulties. In the face of a complex and volatile external environment, enterprises must maintain strategic focus, strengthen their development confidence, and actively explore both domestic and international markets.

On May 4, Zhu Linsen, Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee and Mayor, visited QiuBao Valve Accessories Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Zhanfeng Footwear Co., Ltd., and Zhejiang Ruixing Valve Co., Ltd. in Qingtian to investigate and understand their recent business operations and the challenges faced in export trade. He analyzed the foreign trade situation together with enterprise leaders, sorted out response strategies, and encouraged enterprises to remain confident, respond proactively, and continuously improve their product competitiveness. On-site, specific issues such as the need for more exhibition booths and reducing enterprise costs were also addressed.

Municipal leaders Li Feng, Lou Zhijian, Yu Huiyou, Lou Langjian, Liu Zhiwei, Zhou Heping, and others have successively visited enterprises such as Songyang Huawei Door Industry, Zhejiang Kain New Materials Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Zhongguang Electric Group Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Youtai Electric Co., Ltd., Wanbang Footwear Co., Ltd., Oubao Security Technology Co., Ltd., Yunhe Zaxi Import and Export Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Jiahong Sports Equipment Co., Ltd., and Zhejiang Tianxi Kitchen Appliance Co., Ltd. They conducted in-depth exchanges with business leaders, listened carefully to their foreign trade and production operation updates, and adopted forms such as on-site office work to practically resolve the concrete difficulties and problems faced by enterprises.

“In 2024, Lishui’s total foreign trade import and export volume exceeded 40 billion yuan for the first time, reaching 42.38 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.4%,” said a relevant official from the Municipal Bureau of Commerce. Municipal leaders have been intensively visiting foreign trade and foreign-invested enterprises, bringing policies with them and returning with problems to solve. They have encouraged enterprises to remain calm and confident, ensuring they are both well-prepared and well-equipped, thus powering the high-quality development of Lishui’s foreign trade with an extraordinary and courageous “engine”. At the same time, since the beginning of the year, Lishui has continuously upgraded foreign trade policies and improved its foreign trade service mechanism to ensure the effectiveness of policy supply, offer practical measures for enterprise services, and guide and encourage enterprises to set sail for overseas markets.

In response to new problems and difficulties encountered by foreign trade and foreign-invested enterprises, Lishui has established a command center to support the high-quality development of foreign economic and trade activities. Leaders of the municipal Party committee, municipal government, and party and government leaders at the county (city, district) level are paired with key export enterprises, establishing a closed-loop mechanism to resolve enterprise issues and implementing “one policy for one enterprise” measures. From January to April this year, Lishui’s foreign trade exports reached 12.69 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 25.0%, ranking first in the province. Among them, exports to ASEAN reached 1.66 billion yuan, up 32.3%, and exports to the Middle East reached 1.34 billion yuan, up 56.2%.

The government and enterprises of Lishui City are working in the same direction, forming synergies through eight strategies for breakthrough amid crises: leveraging the support of overseas Chinese, developing cross-border e-commerce, coordinating to reduce costs, providing on-demand assistance, enhancing human resources, skillfully using rules, exploring new tracks, and promoting integration with culture and tourism. These efforts represent the “Lishui practice” in response to external environmental changes for the entire province.

It is worth noting that Lishui City has made full use of the advantages of its overseas Chinese community to expand domestic and international supply-demand matching channels, converting local warehouses owned by overseas Chinese into provincial overseas warehouses and integrating global resources to open up international markets, achieving positive progress. By compiling the “Lishui Good Products Supply List” and the “Overseas Chinese Business Demand List”, the “China Good Products Go Overseas from Qingtian County” event was held on April 3, facilitating 36 intended cross-border cooperation projects. Relying on the Qingtian Overseas Chinese Warehouse Trade Promotion Association, the city has leveraged 119 self-built overseas warehouses by overseas Chinese in 23 countries and regions, including Spain and Brazil, effectively shortening cross-border logistics cycles.

Praise from entrepreneurs is the true praise. A representative from the Sino-European Trade Group in Spain stated that the combined advantages of bonded warehouses and overseas Chinese warehouses have greatly accelerated the transshipment of goods.

“The government pays attention to details, which also gives enterprises confidence in their development,” said the head of Yunhe Chengchuang Precision Machinery. “The government provided a practical solution to the high energy costs faced by enterprises — waiving basic electricity fees, which is expected to save the company 460,000 yuan in half a year.”

The representative from Santian Auto stated that thanks to coordination from government departments, financial institutions optimized their procedures and significantly shortened processing times. The company’s application for a 30 million yuan refinancing loan for equipment upgrades was successfully approved, effectively alleviating financial pressure.

Currently, city and county-level leaders have made 33 service visits to enterprises and distributed over 120 enterprise support “gift packages”.

As one of the “three driving forces” of economic growth, foreign trade plays a crucial role in stabilizing the economy, promoting development, and creating jobs. Following the work arrangements of the provincial Party committee and government, Lishui has consistently taken implementation into its own hands and shouldered responsibilities, always thinking, standing, and working together with enterprises. It has spared no effort in launching a comprehensive combination of work, policy, and service measures. At present, the precise assistance policies of “one policy for one enterprise” are showing tangible results, and the government’s sincerity in wholeheartedly helping enterprises overcome real difficulties is clearly evident. Only through joint efforts of the government and enterprises can we further strengthen our confidence and resolve in facing external challenges, and truly contribute more to the overall stability and progress of the province through Lishui’s foreign economic and trade work.