Yucheng County in Henan Province leverages its “four major platforms” to boost high-quality development of the county’s economy.

Along the banks of the clear Zhou-Shang-Yong Canal, high-rise buildings stand tall, and lush trees provide ample shade. The scenery along the river reflects the changes and achievements of high-quality development in Yucheng County, Shangqiu City, Henan Province.

Yucheng County is located at the junction of Henan, Shandong, and Anhui provinces. It has a total population of 1.26 million, administers 25 townships, and covers an area of ​​1,558 square kilometers. It is known as the “Hometown of Magnolia in China,” the “City of Steel Measuring Tapes in China,” a National Advanced County in Scientific and Technological Progress, a National Advanced County in Grain Production, a National Greening Model County, a National Garden County, and a county certified by the geographical indication for Yucheng apples.

In recent years, Yucheng County has made comprehensive efforts, breaking away from conventional thinking and adhering to high-quality development. Relying on four major platforms—the e-commerce logistics industrial park, the electroplating ecological park, the Shangqiu bonded logistics center, and the talent recruitment platform—it has strengthened its leading industries, deepened opening-up and cooperation, implemented a talent attraction strategy, promoted the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas, and taken improving people’s livelihoods as the starting point and end point of all its work. It has also forged a high-quality cadre team, forging a development path with distinctive Yucheng characteristics.

Stepping into the E-commerce Logistics Industrial Park located in the Yucheng High-tech Industrial Development Zone, the advanced facilities are immediately impressive. The intelligent warehousing system can accurately locate each item, significantly improving storage efficiency. Automated sorting equipment operates at high speed, quickly and accurately allocating packages to different delivery areas.

The E-commerce Logistics Industrial Park actively integrates resources and collaborates closely with major e-commerce platforms and logistics companies to achieve efficient operation of the entire logistics chain. This year, for “Double 11,” the industrial park partnered with companies like J&T Express, preparing contingency plans in advance. Staff were increased by 20%, the number of inter-provincial trunk line vehicles doubled, and 500,000 reusable parcel bags were stockpiled. By optimizing delivery routes and increasing temporary storage space, the park addressed the challenge of a surge in orders in a short period, ensuring smooth logistics and timely delivery of goods to consumers.

The E-commerce Logistics Industrial Park currently employs over 1,200 people, including university students majoring in e-commerce logistics and local residents who have been trained as logistics operators. The e-commerce logistics industrial park regularly organizes training programs, which not only improves the professional skills and levels of employees but also promotes stable employment, achieving a win-win situation for both economic and social benefits.

Furthermore, the e-commerce logistics industrial park provides substantial support and services for enterprise development. Addressing the cargo storage and sorting challenges faced by resident companies, the park offers various preferential policies. Simultaneously, the park’s intelligent facilities help companies save labor costs and improve logistics operational efficiency.

In recent years, Yucheng County has actively promoted industrial transformation, with the development of the electroplating eco-park being a key step. The electroplating eco-park is among the first batch of Class A key construction projects in Henan Province and a key enterprise for heavy metal pollution prevention and control in Henan Province. It boasts a strong technical R&D team and, through long-term strategic cooperation with the China Surface Engineering Association, the Henan Provincial Environmental Protection Research Institute, and Hangzhou Huishui Technology Co., Ltd., can treat up to 10,000 tons of wastewater daily, achieving advanced domestic and international levels in heavy metal pollution control.

The electroplating eco-park boasts advanced facilities and equipment, cutting-edge technical support, and supporting services such as bonded logistics, e-commerce logistics, and color printing and packaging. Hardware facilities necessary for enterprise development, including research and office facilities, wastewater treatment facilities, and warehousing and distribution facilities, have also been completed, effectively reducing upfront construction investment costs and promoting leapfrog development for businesses.

In recent years, to form a regional economic layout of complementary advantages and high-quality development, leverage its strengths to enhance industrial foundation capabilities and supply chain levels, and assist in the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries, the electroplating eco-park has actively extended and supplemented its supply chain, attracting upstream and downstream enterprises to settle in. Currently, it has attracted 78 enterprises, forming a complete industrial chain cluster mainly focused on high-end plating processes such as gold plating, silver plating, tin plating, and aluminum anodizing.

Advanced electroplating technology has improved the quality and added value of Yucheng’s manufacturing industry, making “Made in Yucheng” products more competitive in the market. The electroplating eco-park attaches great importance to environmental protection, investing significant resources in wastewater treatment and environmental governance to achieve sustainable development. This has powerfully promoted the transformation of Yucheng County’s traditional manufacturing industry towards high-end, intelligent, and green development, laying a solid foundation for high-quality economic development.

Yucheng County is fully, accurately, and comprehensively implementing the new development philosophy and actively serving its integration into the new development pattern. Currently, the Shangqiu Bonded Logistics Center is thriving, striving to become a vital hub connecting local and international markets, building a solid bridge for regional economic development.

Yucheng County has successfully attracted Henan Yisio Company to put its zero-carbon photovoltaic industrial park into operation. Shangqiu Development and Investment Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. has provided the industrial park with 620 million yuan in supply chain finance for the import of equipment, raw materials, and finished product sales. The presence of these enterprises has, on the one hand, improved the quality and level of economic development; on the other hand, with product imports and exports handled through the Shangqiu Bonded Logistics Center, and raw material and equipment procurement and product sales completed through supply chain companies, the volume of customs declaration and warehousing business at the Shangqiu Bonded Logistics Center and the revenue of supply chain companies have increased, laying an industrial foundation for the Shangqiu Bonded Logistics Center’s next step in applying for the establishment of a comprehensive bonded zone.

To broaden logistics channels, enhance the platform’s industrial service capabilities, and leverage Shangqiu’s role as a national-level commercial and logistics hub, the Shangqiu Bonded Logistics Center launched industrial cluster procurement and rail-sea intermodal transport services in 2023. This supports local and surrounding electroplating and measuring tool companies in bulk purchasing plastic granules from Iran and the United States, reducing their production and logistics costs.

Leveraging Yucheng’s advantage as the last western stop for China Railway Shanghai Bureau Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “China Railway Shanghai Bureau”), rail-sea intermodal transport services from Yucheng to Shanghai Luchao Port have been successfully launched, providing convenient one-ticket customs clearance and transportation services for import and export enterprises. Currently, container qualifications have been completed, China Railway Shanghai Bureau has determined the railway transport price for this section, and the first test train has been completed, opening a new channel for Shangqiu, as the “eastern gateway of Henan,” to develop an export-oriented economy.

Leveraging the bonded warehousing and import/export trade functions of the Shangqiu Bonded Logistics Center, enterprises have effectively reduced operating costs and significantly improved trade efficiency. This has promoted the deep integration of Yucheng County with the international market, further enhancing the competitiveness of its products in the international market and allowing Yucheng’s specialty products to reach the world more smoothly. Simultaneously, it has introduced advanced technologies and high-quality resources, injecting new impetus into economic development.

Talent is a crucial force driving regional development. Yucheng County actively builds talent recruitment platforms, adopting an open attitude and innovative measures to vigorously implement a talent attraction strategy, injecting continuous new vitality into high-quality development.

The Jiangsu Nanjing Talent Recruitment and Introduction Workstation actively collaborates with leading domestic talent service agencies, intermediary organizations, and science and technology financial institutions, leveraging the social resources of these partners to attract high-end talent and intellectual resources. With the workstation’s support, Yucheng County Innovation Talent Development Co., Ltd. has already partnered with the human resources company Renlian Group. Simultaneously, the workstation focuses on talent recruitment, holding four large-scale recruitment fairs and securing employment agreements for over 1,000 people. To accelerate the cultivation of new economic growth points, promote industrial transformation and upgrading, and enhance urban competitiveness, this workstation actively connected with outstanding talents from Yucheng working in Nanjing, successfully attracting Nanjing Sensing Information Technology Co., Ltd. to invest in and construct the Yucheng Low-Altitude Economic Industrial Park.

Yucheng County is actively exploring and promoting a virtuous cycle of deep integration between universities, local governments, and enterprises, and mutual promotion of industry, academia, and research. It has established in-depth cooperation with universities such as Shangqiu University of Technology and Henan Chemical Technology Technician College, building Yucheng campuses for both universities to provide internship and training bases for students. Simultaneously, technical backbones from enterprises also enter the campuses to impart practical work experience to students. This industry-academia-research integration model has cultivated a group of outstanding talents with both solid theoretical foundations and rich practical skills. Driven by the talent attraction strategy, Yucheng County’s innovation vitality is constantly bursting forth, with various talents playing important roles in various fields, promoting enterprise innovation and development, and continuously enhancing industrial competitiveness.

Yucheng County will continue to leverage its platform advantages, intensify efforts to attract talent, continuously optimize its business environment, focus on integrating and developing emerging and future industries, accelerate the cultivation of new productive forces, promote high-quality economic development in the county, and strive for a brighter future.