Dr. Chen Hongtian's speech at the 2021 Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Greater Bay Area Entrepreneurs Summit

2021.04.19

On April 16, 2021, Dr. Chen Hongtian, a member of the CPPCC National Committee, a Justice of the Peace appointed by the HKSAR, co-Chairman of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Entrepreneurs Alliance, Chairman of Harmony Club, and Chairman of Cheung Kei Group was invited to deliver a speech at the 2021 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Entrepreneurs Summit, which had the theme of "Embrace the Dual Cycle & Create a New Paradigm". In Dr. Chen's speech, he talked about the challenges and hardship faced by entrepreneurs, their great contribution to society, as well as the difficulties to business development caused by the phenomenon of "new officials ignoring pending issues left by their predecessors”, and the banks' rollover loan policy of "getting new loans for repaying old ones". He hoped that governments and banks around the country would create more policies that would facilitate the development of the private sector. Dr. Chen Hongtian's views resonated with the entrepreneurs in attendance, and the speech concluded with a round of applause. The following is a transcript of Dr. Chen Hongtian's speech (trimmed and shortened) for the benefit of our readers.

Dear Honorable Chairman Dr. Jonathan Choi, Honourable Standing Committee Member Huang Min, Secretary Lei Biao, and all distinguished guests:

Good evening! I am a businessman from Hong Kong, and I am speaking here in my personal capacity. I heard that many government officials are here in attendance, and there are six mayors and district governors here to attract business and investments, so I would like to say a few words about my thoughts as an entrepreneur.

First of all, our batch of entrepreneurs have all benefited from the country's reform and development policy, and we have all grown together with our times. I first arrived in Shenzhen in August 1984 and was transferred to Shenzhen on January 1, 1985, on the same day as Tan Guoxiang, the former Deputy Secretary of Shenzhen Municipal Committee. Looking back on the development of Shenzhen, like many others, I will always be nostalgic about the efficient and pragmatic spirit of Shenzhen back then. The entrepreneurs' circle is a very outstanding community, and I would like to share a few stories with you here.

About a month ago, I was having dinner at Wang Wenyin's company, and an entrepreneur told me that he was developing a technology that could make us twenty years younger in physiological age, and he added that the technology had been successful in an experiment with a laboratory mouse. This is a unicorn company, and I am very much looking forward to the success of this businessman. Because youth is priceless, and if we can turn back the clock, it will be a great cause that would benefit mankind.

A few months ago Huang Hongsheng asked me to meet him, I sent him my itinerary for the next ten days, and he forwarded me his itinerary for the next six days. I had social engagements every night, and he had appointments every three hours. Finally, he flew from Nanjing to meet me, and then returned to Shanghai in the afternoon. He flew in economy class, so don't be mistaken that successful entrepreneurs lead a life of extravagance.

A few days ago, Mr. Yao Zhenhua's secretary came to my company for a job interview. I asked her why she is leaving such a great company. She explained that she had to work from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day at Mr. Yao's company, and the intensity of the work can be incredibly stressful. Yao Zhenhua's company manages trillions of dollars in assets, employs 150,000 staff, and pays a lot of taxes to the country every year. And yet, he lives in a 200-square-foot house. There are many entrepreneurs around me like Mr. Yao, and their humility truly deserves our respect and admiration.

Not long ago, I saw quite an encouraging scene of Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi having a conversation with an American diplomat. Mr. Yang said, "The United States does not have the qualification to say that it wants to speak to China from a position of strength. The U.S. side was not even qualified to say such things even 20 years or 30 years back, because this is not the way to deal with the Chinese people."

Why do Chinese diplomats have the guts to speak in this manner? It is because nearly half of the world's manufacturing is done in China, and at this time we are not afraid of any sanctions. We do not need to be shocked when insulted by others acting condescendingly. China is very strong today and is not afraid of anyone at all.

I have a doctorate in economics, and I can tell you that traditionally, GDP is calculated based on the exchange rate of U.S. dollar and Chinese Yuan, and if we were to calculate according to the purchasing power parity index, China's GDP has long surpassed that of the United States. A few years ago, the central government proposed the strategic policy of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area for synergistic economic development. Of the two major bay areas in the world currently, the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States is a high-tech cluster, while the Tokyo Bay Area in Japan is a manufacturing cluster. The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area integrates many aspects, with Hong Kong being one of the most important financial centres in the world, Shenzhen can provide high-tech talents and industrial support, and other cities in the Pearl River Delta is home to a large number of manufacturing businesses. The central government's initiative to develop the synergy of this region provides a very good opportunity for every entrepreneur to grow and prosper. I believe that in the future, this area will continue to flourish, and it will become the fastest-growing economic centre in the world.

What do entrepreneurs fear most? Many government officials and bank presidents are in attendance today, and I would like to say a few words to all of you. Not long ago, I established a company called Zhongnong Haidao (Shenzhen) Biotechnology Co., Ltd, with six or seven outstanding entrepreneurs and scientists from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). Our goal is to transform non-fertile saline and mudflat land, into arable land, and this has been reported on major documents from the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party and the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China. Later on, many journalists have asked me about the latest development of the project. So, I would like to take this opportunity to give all of you an explanation.

Upon studying the operation of such a project, I learned that there will be a lot of national policies, government subsidies required to move the project forward. It is a very difficult operation, we are worried about the interactions with the authorities, and even more worried about how the local government will not implement the central government's policies or do not comply with the contracts and agreement. A few days ago an entrepreneur approached me, he shared with me that on a project in Shandong, the contract signed was voided when there is an appreciation in the land price. Despite a contract signed and plans completed, once there is a change in leadership for the authorities, they can just be scrapped. This is a problem that many entrepreneurs have encountered, and I have also suffered from similar experiences.

I think the government should be a role model in honouring the spirit of the contract. This has also been mentioned in Premier Li Keqiang's various government work reports. He had even brought up that the "new officials ignoring pending issues left by their predecessors” phenomenon will be dealt with legally. When people talk about the difficulty of developing a certain region, it is always said that investment is hindered at a certain point, because certain parties do not keep to their word, and has no sense of integrity. I hope that the government officials in attendance, who are here to invite businesses to invest today, will honour the spirit of contracts and keep to their word after contracts are signed. Please think through if a project is viable before signing a contract.

I would also like to say a few words with our friends in the banking industry. Entrepreneurs are having a very difficult time, and the rollover loan policy of "getting new loans for repaying old ones" must end now. Such a policy has affected many in the manufacturing industry and has had a real impact on the economy. You have been checking up on businesses incessantly, and repeatedly even on a fairly normal loan. If you find that a loan from two years ago, is now considered non-compliant, you would request its immediate repayment, and this has put many businesses in a miserable state.

That's all I have for today, thank you very much.