In the wake of the intense competition to attract investment, the consequences are now being reckoned with. Not long ago, a national news program highlighted two typical cases: local governments in Yichun, Jiangxi, and Nanning, Guangxi, went to great lengths to attract the electric vehicle company Neta Auto, investing heavily in equity, constructing factories on its behalf, offering ten-year rent exemptions, and providing subsidies of 20,000 yuan per vehicle. The result? The automaker, Hezhong New Energy, has accumulated losses of 18.3 billion yuan, leaving behind empty factories and dusty production lines in both locations.
This is not an isolated incident. From new energy vehicles to photovoltaics, the vicious cycle of competing on subsidies and land prices across various regions is being halted by new regulations and a national push for a unified market. As policy incentives become increasingly similar, what truly drives manufacturing projects to make their final choice?
I recently visited the Qianwan New Area in Ningbo, driving along the coastal road into the latest development zone, the Shi'ertang area. Just three years ago, this was a coastal tidal flat with swaying reeds. Today, it hosts 56 industrial projects with a total investment of 36.4 billion yuan—spanning from energy storage to humanoid robots, and from semiconductors to aerospace. Without any special policy handouts, what makes companies so eager to come and, more importantly, stay? After spending two days on the ground, I uncovered three straightforward "success formulas."
The Need for Speed
Speed is the first impression the Shi'ertang area makes on every visitor. Cai Guodong, General Manager of Ningbo Wanjin Precision Technology Co., Ltd., is a firsthand witness to this transformation. When I met him, he was standing in the storage yard of his company's second-phase expansion, with rows of tall energy storage containers behind him. Wanjin settled in Qianwan in 2023. "Back then, both sides were just empty land. We were the pioneers," Cai recalled.
Wanjin's core business is the full-stack contract manufacturing of energy storage sheet metal and containers, providing structural components and complete cabinet integration services for major brands like Sungrow Power Supply, CATL, and Ginlong Technologies. Why did they choose Qianwan? Cai gave three reasons.
First, land availability and efficiency. The Shi'ertang area offers 33 square kilometers of contiguous reclaimed land, providing ample room for development. Wanjin secured the land in 2023, began first-phase production in 2024, and is now expanding into a second phase in 2025. The time from land acquisition to groundbreaking was just 13.5 days. The facility currently produces 20,000 energy storage containers and 50,000 inverter cabinets annually.
Second, location and transportation. Qianwan connects Shanghai and Hangzhou, and its integration with these cities will be further strengthened after the cross-sea high-speed rail opens in 2027.
Third, industrial synergy. Key technologies for energy storage cabinets, such as thermal management, liquid cooling, and battery temperature control, are derived from the new energy vehicle industry. Companies in Qianwan like Geely's WeiRui Battery and Tuopu Thermal Management have processes that can be directly adapted.
Building on this foundation, Wanjin is now targeting a new direction: AI computing power shelters. Traditional data center construction takes up to 16 months, which cannot keep pace with AI development cycles. By applying integrated welding and constant temperature/humidity control technologies from the energy storage sector to these computing shelters, Wanjin has slashed the construction timeline to 6 months, with the added benefit of being fully relocatable and reusable elsewhere.
From initial setup to expansion and then diversification, Wanjin has climbed a new rung each year. The next step is to deepen its focus on OEM/ODM for new energy storage system manufacturing, with a long-term goal of becoming a leading domestic full-stack energy storage manufacturer.
Wanjin's speed is not unique. Nearby, the factory for Lanlin Technology's annual 100,000-ton steel grating project is nearing completion. Across the road, Tianhong Lvjian Steel Structure is accelerating its construction.
A different kind of "fast" comes from the startup Yanxi Technology. Founder Zhang Kai, with a background in psychology and seven years at a major internet company, came to Qianwan in 2025 with core technology for the bionic facial systems of humanoid robots. "Since settling in the Fudan Hangzhou Bay Science and Technology Park, we registered in the same month, secured our space in the same month, and started R&D in the same month. We also received 11 million yuan in support from municipal and district-level talent programs," Zhang told me. In less than half a year, the bionic facial module entered small-batch trial production. The company launched the world's first intelligent tear-shedding robot and is now collaborating with multiple humanoid robot manufacturers, with order volumes growing rapidly.
Two different scales of enterprise, but the same rhythm: in Qianwan, regardless of size, companies can hit the ground running and then accelerate. But speed is only one part of the story. What truly makes companies stay is another kind of network.
Creating a Supportive Ecosystem
I visited Ningbo Dunmo Technology Co., Ltd.. On founder Xiao Feng's desk were packages of cooked corn—their product is the high-barrier food packaging film wrapping the corn, which allows cooked food to stay fresh for over a year at room temperature without preservatives. For over a decade, this field was monopolized by Japanese companies. Domestic manufacturers had to pay the full amount six months in advance, at 150 yuan per kilogram, and even then, supply was limited.
With a core mission of ending China's reliance on imported high-barrier films, Xiao's team independently developed PVA coating technology. Applying a thin coating to ordinary nylon film drastically reduces oxygen permeability, withstands high-temperature sterilization at 125°C, and resists yellowing and delamination. Dunmo's products are now the preferred domestic alternative for leading brands of ready-to-eat corn and meat products.
In 2025, this hard-tech company that broke the Japanese monopoly chose to locate in Qianwan's Haiji Industrial Park. Two 100,000-class clean coating lines are already running at full capacity, with plans to add three wide-format production lines next year, targeting annual output value of 600 million yuan.
Why here? I followed Xiao Feng on a tour of the Haiji Industrial Park. Just one year after opening, the occupancy rate in the park's north zone has soared to 94%, with 100% of enterprises already in production. Standing at the park entrance, I saw brand-new factory buildings and heard the hum of machinery. What was more surprising was a casual remark from the park's director, Yu Feng: "Of the 11 companies in the north zone, only 2 were brought in through our active investment promotion efforts. The rest were all referrals from other business owners."
The rent isn't cheaper than elsewhere, and the supporting commercial complex isn't even finished yet. So, what's the draw? Yu Feng didn't answer directly but took me for a walk around the park. As we walked, he listed off the "small things" they handle.
Inconvenient employee commutes? The park operates free point-to-point shuttle buses and added special routes during the Spring Festival, taking employees directly to the high-speed rail station.
No place to live? The park arranges talent apartments at a 20% discount compared to market rates.
How to eat affordably and safely? The park waives significant rent for the canteen and conducts daily safety checks on ingredients.
No barber shop? A barber visits monthly, offering free haircuts right on the premises.
Children's schooling? The park even has staff to help handle school enrollment procedures.
Beyond employee services, the park tailored its power distribution equipment to the actual needs of the enterprises. This alone saves park companies about 12 million yuan annually in transmission and distribution fees, and saved the park over 30 million yuan in upfront equipment investment. "These things aren't major," Yu Feng said, stopping to point at a construction site in the distance, "but each one needs someone to manage it." That site is a 160,000-square-meter mixed-use community with 2,363 apartments, set to house 6,000 people upon completion in 2028.
Production figures don't lie. Hualixing Fasteners had an output value of just 45 million yuan in 2023. After moving into the park, it surged to 120 million yuan last year, with a target of 180 million this year. Its two factory buildings are now full of equipment, and the owner is actively looking for more land. Shangde Auto Parts secured a 120 million yuan battery case project from XCMG Group and a 100 million yuan project from Envision AESC, with its annual output value expected to exceed 300 million yuan this year. In the workshop of ZK Xianglong, AI-powered 3D printers are producing high-temperature alloy structural components for Long March rockets and lunar rovers—this company ranks among the top three in China by market share.
Building a Diversified Industrial Future
High-end manufacturing in Zhejiang has long faced a contradiction: projects waiting for space, with not enough land available. The Shi'ertang area in Qianwan New Area is one of the few large-scale contiguous reclaimed "blank slate" areas in the province—an absolutely scarce resource.
How to use this land is a critical question. Some might think of Tokyo Bay, which rose from tidal flats, experienced glory, but also suffered congestion and pollution. Others might recall Detroit, the king of the automotive era that later declined into a hollow city. Qianwan does not want to replicate either. It aims to answer a more fundamental question: what kind of industrial ecosystem should it cultivate?
"Qianwan's answer is not to abandon the automotive industry, but to let new industries grow naturally from the automotive supply chain," explained Ye Zhuoyi, Director of the Qianwan New Area Investment Cooperation Bureau. For example, Wanjin's energy storage technology evolved from automotive thermal management, and Yanxi's robot motors and structural components can be sourced locally.
The same logic has given rise to more cutting-edge sectors. Qingchun Semiconductor is a prime example. Introduced and settled in Qianwan by the Fudan Hangzhou Bay Science and Technology Park, it is the only domestic silicon carbide chip company to secure designations from overseas automakers. Sun Botao, the company's R&D head, said Qianwan's advantages are tangible: Zhongtian Jinke's epitaxial wafers are within walking distance, so R&D samples don't wait for mass production line scheduling; the nearby Fudan University Ningbo Research Institute's Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Laboratory provides pilot-scale testing and development services; and Geely Auto is right here, collaborating on the joint development of fourth-generation chip designations. With the 2026 surge in AI computing demand, Qingchun remains firmly in the first tier of silicon carbide chip companies.
Following this "existing industries fostering new growth" path, Qianwan has further defined its industrial system for the next planning period. "A 200-billion-yuan intelligent automotive sector forms the foundation, layered with hundred-billion-yuan new materials and a 50-billion-yuan artificial intelligence and robotics sector. Biomedicine and aerospace serve as future seeds," explained Yu Lei, a senior economist at the Zhejiang Provincial Development and Planning Institute. "Simultaneously, we are accelerating the shaping of new engines in areas like new energy, while proactively laying out future industries such as next-generation semiconductors, brain-computer interfaces, and bio-manufacturing." The local focus is on cultivating new quality productive forces to build a world-class advanced manufacturing base.
The Shi'ertang area is the "showroom" for this industrial web. Ye Zhuoyi spread out a planning map on his desk, pointing out various locations: the north section, where a 3,000-mu (approx. 200 hectares) coastal international automotive R&D and testing center will rise to meet smart vehicle testing needs; the east section, where the Ningbo Qianwan Airport is being equipped with an 800-meter runway and 13 aircraft parking stands, with the steel structure of the adjacent general aviation logistics park 80% complete—in the future, medium-sized drones will take off from here for intra-city logistics in the Hangzhou-Ningbo area and even across the Yangtze River Delta; further south, the Aerospace Industrial Park has been topped out, ready to house hard-tech projects like phased array antennas, drone R&D centers, and laser communication terminals, forming a closed loop with upstream chips and new materials.
"Don't put all your eggs in one basket, and don't blindly chase trends. Leverage the advantage of a blank slate, root it in advanced manufacturing, simultaneously introduce hard-tech incubation platforms, and weave a diverse, symbiotic industrial network," Ye Zhuoyi said. On the blueprint before him, the south bank of Hangzhou Bay is transforming from tidal flats into a hotbed of industry, taking on the shape of a world-class industrial belt.
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