Guo Guangchang, Chairman of FOSUN INTL (HKEX: 00656), recently shared his reflections from a business trip to Guangchang County in Jiangxi province through an article on his personal WeChat public account "Guangchang's View of the World."
During the visit, he reconnected with an old friend, Dr. Li Yan, a village doctor he first met eight years ago. Dr. Li was recognized as one of the "Top Ten Heartwarming Rural Doctors" in a national award ceremony where Guo presented him with the award. Guo expressed his admiration for Dr. Li's long-term dedication to serving the local community and congratulated him on recently being honored as a model worker in Jiangxi province.
Guangchang County is one of the 78 counties covered by the FOSUN Foundation's Rural Doctor Philanthropy Project, which has been active there for nine years. Guo reflected that every conversation with these grassroots healthcare workers reaffirms the importance and correctness of this philanthropic initiative, which lies at the heart of FOSUN's charitable endeavors.
The project, initiated by the FOSUN Foundation, now supports 25,000 rural doctors across 78 counties in 16 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, benefiting over 3 million people from 300,000 rural households.
Coinciding with the blooming season of the white lotus, Guo also toured the local expansive lotus fields. Guangchang County has long been known as the "Home of Lotus." In recent years, the county has been deeply exploring the potential of the white lotus industry, pioneering a new path for rural revitalization that transforms a single flower into a comprehensive industrial chain and turns simple lotus ponds into sources of prosperity.
Guo also shared the personal connection behind his name "Guangchang." His father left his hometown in Dongyang, Zhejiang, decades ago to work in Guangchang County, Jiangxi, and thus named his son after this land, creating a bond spanning many years.
Reflecting on his father's generation and the development of Zhejiang merchants, Guo noted that limited arable land in mountainous Zhejiang historically forced many to seek livelihoods elsewhere. The era of reform and opening-up, coupled with improved market systems, provided opportunities that nurtured a resilient cohort of Zhejiang entrepreneurs. What was once a resource-scarce hometown has now fostered numerous daring enterprises and thriving industries capable of attracting significant labor for development.
This history led Guo to a profound realization: long-term competitiveness, whether in regional development or international rivalry, is not merely a contest of natural resource endowments. He pointed out that inherent disadvantages can instead motivate people to actively seek change and achieve continuous breakthroughs. Truly enduring competitiveness stems more from innovation, technology, and an inexhaustible entrepreneurial spirit.
In closing, Guo encouraged all pragmatic entrepreneurs and expressed his wishes for Guangchang County's continued prosperity and development.
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