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Viewing cable 06GUANGZHOU11352, Short March: Chaozhou -- One of Guangdong's
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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
06GUANGZHOU11352 | 2006-04-12 04:10 | 2011-08-30 01:44 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Consulate Guangzhou |
VZCZCXRO0133
RR RUEHAG RUEHCN RUEHDF RUEHGH RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHGZ #1352/01 1020410
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 120410Z APR 06
FM AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4736
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 GUANGZHOU 011352
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EB, R, EAP/CM, EAP/PD, DRL
STATE PASS USTR
USDOC FOR 4420/ITA/MAC/MCQUEEN, CELICO, DAS LEVINE
USPACOM FOR FPA
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON KIPR SCUL ETRD EINV CH
SUBJECT: Short March: Chaozhou -- One of Guangdong's
Hidden Gems
Ref: Guangzhou 11065 and previous
(U) This document is sensitive but unclassified. Please
protect accordingly. Not for release outside U.S.
Government channels. Not for internet publication.
¶1. (U) Summary: Displaced by Shantou after the Communist
takeover as the key city of eastern Guangdong, Chaozhou is
coming back strong basing its rise on its huge ceramic
industry and strong representation in niche sectors such as
wedding gown manufacturing, with strong business
associations developing brand awareness and other
intellectual property rights (IPR). The government has
shown substantial foresight, balancing economic development
needs against quality of life issues and appears ready to
exploit its considerable historical and cultural assets --
not to mention improving transportation infrastructure --
for a potentially huge boom in tourism. The city possesses
great dynamism, exploiting its comparative advantages while
searching for new opportunities. End Summary
Chaozhou -- The Once and Future
-------------------------------
¶2. (SBU) Entering Chaozhou in the next leg of the
Consulate's "short march" to the "Chao-Shan" region of
eastern Guangdong (reftel), we were whisked away to a
spectacular pavilion and park complex built in the 10th
century celebrating the famous Tang dynasty memorialist and
philosopher, Han Yu, famous for denouncing Buddhism as a
foreign superstition and who, as magistrate, regularized
the agricultural system and drove away the crocodiles,
thereby putting Chaozhou on the way to fortune and fame.
That visit put the Consulate party in a very positive and
excited frame in mind when Vice Mayor Chen Jianxin noted
that Chaozhou was established 1600 years ago and was once
just as important and as well known as Guangzhou as the
major centers of civilization and commerce in Guangdong
province.
¶3. (U) The Vice Mayor noted that Chaozhou is 3,600 sq. km.
in size and has a population of 2.5 million. The GDP in
2005 was RMB 28 billion (US$ 3.5 billion), 18th overall
among cities in Guangdong province. In 2004, the city's
utilized FDI was over US$ 58 million. These numbers may
not look particularly impressive, but Vice Mayor Chen
pointed out that Chaozhou's ceramics industry -- comprised
overwhelmingly of local small and medium enterprises -- is
number one in China, accounting for one third of China's
total ceramic product exports. Ceramics, together with
textiles, agriculture, and consumer electronics make up the
four pillar industries accounting for approximately 80% of
the total exports from the city.
¶4. (SBU) Vice Mayor Chen also noted (not the last time we
would hear this theme) that Chaozhou (also known as Teochow
in older history books) is quite properly the real center
of the "Chao-Shan" area. Millions of overseas Chinese come
from this region, mostly settling in southeast Asia,
particularly Thailand and Indonesia, and whether they
actually come from Jieyang or Shantou (known also as Swatow
in older history books) or Chaozhou, they always identify
themselves as coming from Chaozhou. To be sure, Shantou
has been officially designated the center of the region by
provincial authorities and has a greater degree of economic
development (in part because of its designation as a
special economic zone in the first part of Deng Xiaoping's
"reform and opening" of China), but Chaozhou has come on
strong in recent years and is poised for even quicker
economic growth.
Roads, Railroads, Ports, and Zones
----------------------------------
¶5. (SBU) In a separate meeting presided over by municipal
Deputy Secretary General Zeng Wuxiong, Development and
Reform Bureau (DRB) Deputy Director Li Kongxi said that
Chaozhou's 11th five year plan calls for major investment
in infrastructure, including the completion of a highway
network integrating the eastern Guangdong area and
connecting the area as a whole to Guangdong and Fujian.
GUANGZHOU 00011352 002 OF 004
The current railroad line between Xiamen and Guangzhou has
a station in Chaozhou, but a future high-speed line between
Shanghai and Shenzhen will also feature a Chaozhou station.
Meanwhile the replacement of the Shantou airport with a
much larger regional one in Jieyang roughly equidistant to
the urban centers of Jieyang, Chaozhou, and Shantou
promises to shift some attention to Chaozhou away from
Shantou.
¶6. (SBU) In addition, Chaozhou intends to upgrade its
harbor to accommodate 5,000-ton vessels and has set up a
number of special economic experimental zones, including
the Chaozhou Sanbaimen Economic Development Experimental
Zone and the Raoping Taiwan Investment Experimental Zone to
largely attract investments from overseas Chinese,
particularly from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.
The Taiwan investors are targeted in particular due to the
close proximity of Chaozhou to Kaoshiung, Taiwan's major
port city. These zones are still largely light industrial
zones, aimed at producing a plethora of goods from sporting
goods to toys to house-wares.
Adding Gas To The Economy
-------------------------
¶7. (SBU) Chaozhou also plans to diversify their economy,
expanding into pharmaceuticals, high-tech, and heavy
industries. One of the planned projects is the
construction of a liquefied petroleum gas distribution
center with an annual capacity of 1.2 million tons.
However, when asked about potential environmental concerns
arising from the development of heavy industrial and energy
refining, officials quickly backpedaled and said that they
were only in the planning stages and that they have not yet
gone forward until all environmental issues were examined.
Unbroken China
--------------
¶8. (U) Turning to some of Chaozhou's industries, we
visited the Fengxi Porcelain Exhibition Center. The
entrance way featured an enormous reproduction of the
famous painting "On the River During Qingming" ("Qingming
Shanghe Tu") comprised completely of ceramic materials.
All the major Chaozhou ceramic manufacturers were
represented in the exhibition center which doubled also as
a museum featuring the long history of Chaozhou as a
ceramics manufacturing center (because of the concentration
of artisans settling in the area after escaping from
turmoil in the north a millennium ago) and the huge
diversity of products ranging from artistic figurines and
Dresden porcelain-like flowered and filigreed bone china
(not surprising since Dresden consciously copied older
Chinese styles) to complete china services, including ones
specifically ordered for use by the Chinese leadership in
Beijing for state occasions.
¶9. (SBU) Next came a visit to Songhua Ceramics, one of the
largest in Chaozhou and a manufacturer of dinner ware and
home use items in a dizzying array of patterns, styles, and
quality. Company executives said that competitive
pressures meant that Songhua had to constantly change its
lineup of goods on offer. Its export market was mostly
Europe, and Songhua would either manufacture based on
customers' designs or would design something itself and
seek out potential customers. This involved a considerable
amount of product development and design, and hence Songhua
was very supportive of strong IPR protection. Songhua was
not alone in this, and the Chaozhou ceramics industry has a
very strong business association aimed not only at
promoting Chaozhou as an overall "brand" for all ceramics
produced there but also at resolving IPR disputes among
association members efficiently without having to go
through administrative or court procedures. Moreover, the
association was also very much engaged, along with
municipal officials, for protecting local companies'
products against IPR infringers elsewhere.
Here Comes The Bride
--------------------
¶10. (SBU) We then visited a company representing one of
GUANGZHOU 00011352 003 OF 004
Chaozhou's important niche industries, wedding gown
manufacturing. Chaozhou companies produce over half a
million wedding gowns and evening dresses a year, primarily
for export to the United States. The industry is
concentrated in the Chaozhou area due to the availability
of skilled workers able to do the intricate embroidery
needed on wedding gowns and dresses. Wellpute Chaozhou
Garment Factory Ltd. President Lin Yang pointed out he and
his competitors have done very well and that because of the
high skills needed for employees, they are well rewarded by
Chinese standards. Working conditions appeared good, and
skilled seamstresses are able to earn up to RMB 8,000 (US$
1000) per month with chief designers making much more.
Some of the gowns already had price tags for their
destination companies, allowing the dresses to be delivered
directly to the stores for immediate sale. In addition,
manufacturers appear to take great pains to protect the IPR
of their clients. For example, Wellpute has completely
separate facilities to manufacture gowns for different
clients, thus preventing any leakage of designs from one
customer's product line to another.
Bring On The Tourists
---------------------
¶11. (U) The strength of the ceramics and wedding gown
industries is based on the high sense of fine cultural
achievement, and so it is not surprising that Chaozhou
intends to play its strong cultural hand through heavy
investment in tourism. In addition to the Han Yu Temple
complex, Chaozhou also features a completely rebuilt
Kaiyuan Temple -- trashed during the Cultural Revolution --
featuring the intricate raised embroidery distinctive to
Chaozhou and finely detailed giant Buddhist images produced
by Chaozhou's famous woodcarving artisans (also known for
their work in Sino-Thai Buddhist temples). It is said that
even Han Yu, known for his anti-Buddhist stance, relaxed
that posture after extended meetings with the Kaiyuan
Abbot.
¶12. (U) Just as stunning as the Han Yu and Kaiyuan
Temples, a large portion of its Ming Dynasty-era city walls
survives, centering on the Guangji Gate, around which a
tourist shopping and dining area is being developed.
Opposite the gate, is the Xiangzi Bridge, a "stone pivot
bridge" unique in the world. In the 1950's the original
bridge was largely dismantled, but with a forty percent
contribution from Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing through his
foundation, the city is restoring the bridge's original
wooden structure, including recreating the original wooden
pontoon bridge that spans the middle of the bridge that
pivot to allow ships to sail down the river. Each of the
bridge's large stone pillars feature wooden pavilions that
can be used as shops or restaurants. The Guangji Gate and
the Xiangzi Bridge could easily become one of the most
picturesque scenes in China, once the bridge restoration is
completed in September.
¶13. (U) In addition, Chaozhou has built more modern
attractions, including a massive central square in the
heart of the city. For one hour each evening, residents
and visitors can enjoy a free water and light show with
hundreds of synchronized lights and water fountains as well
as a massive water screen that displays music videos and
video clips. Despite costing RMB 10,000 each evening to
display such a performance, the shows are very popular and
attract people from Shantou and Jieyang, which are less
than a hour's drive away. Besides government buildings, a
museum and several new shopping areas will surround the
square. Moreover, new "old" projects also are likely to be
major drawing cards, such as the Tanfuyuan complex, located
in a beautifully tranquil setting and featuring a replica
of the "Palace to Receive Thai Tribute," a Buddhist temple
complex, and a Confucian-inspired school aimed at teaching
the Chaozhou dialect to Thai-Chinese students -- all built
through the generous contribution of the late third
generation Thai-Chinese tycoon Guo Fengyuan.
Some Tourist Development Problems
---------------------------------
GUANGZHOU 00011352 004 OF 004
¶14. (U) Deputy Director of the Tourism Bureau Zheng
Yongning, while clearly exulting in the sights available in
Chaozhou, noted that the city lacks name recognition among
foreigners and is not very well connected to areas outside
of eastern Guangdong and the Pearl River Delta. To be
sure, the new airport in Jieyang could help funnel some
additional domestic tourists to Chaozhou, but the city also
lacks quality hospitality facilities, such as high class
hotels. Tourism cooperation efforts with Jieyang and
Shantou not to mention a tourism development cooperation
agreement among 18 municipalities in Guangdong province
have not panned out well.
Comment: A Hopeful Future
-------------------------
¶15. (SBU) Chaozhou has a strong entrepreneurial feel to
it, and its cultural aspects make it clearly the most
attractive place when compared to sleepy Jieyang and sleazy
and slightly dangerous Shantou. One of its weaknesses --
perhaps indicative of the region as a whole -- is the lack
of quality tertiary education facilities to provide the
educated workers necessary for high-tech industries and the
managerial talent to found and run enterprises. Still,
with cultural and natural attractions that can potentially
make Chaozhou as well known as Guilin, improved tourist
infrastructure, better marketing, and concentration on its
strengths Chaozhou may indeed restore the glory of its
previous days when it was the shining rival to Guangzhou.
¶16. (SBU) Departing Chaozhou, we next head for Huizhou --
not really part of "Chao-Shan" country, but a needed rest
for the night on the long way back to Guangzhou. Moreover,
Huizhou gave us an opportunity to stop in at television and
telephone manufacturer TCL -- the main subject of our next
message in the "short march" series.
Dong