China Industrial Policy at Work in Lingerie Themed Town女性内衣主题小镇折射中国产业政策

吴佳柏 贾一真

Chinese “feature towns” focus on a single industry， including drones and chocolate.中國“特色小镇”着眼单一产业，如无人机、巧克力等。

On a freshly paved street in a Chinese rural county， a few doors down from a dog-meat restaurant， Midnight Charm Clothing produces transparent chemises and “erotic” outfits.

A decade ago Dongwangji， a town in China’s eastern Jiangsu province， was mostly rice fields. Today it is the heartland for Chinese production of lingerie.

Local officials are actively supporting Midnight Charm and 600 other lingerie producers as part of an initiative to develop “feature towns” that focus on specific industries.

The initiative illustrates President Xi Jinping’s vision of a government-guided market economy where the government channels private investment into favoured sectors， in addition to controlling the largest companies through state ownership.

Industries should be chosen “based on each region’s natural endowments and comparative advantages”， the National Development and Reform Commission （NDRC）， the state planning agency， said in December. “Every region must accurately comprehend the feature town’s intrinsically special characteristics.”

Most feature towns are on the outskirts of larger cities. The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development approved 127 feature towns in late-2016 and a further 276 in August. By 2020， the agency wants to develop 1，000.

Beyond lingerie， other themes include pets， chocolate， drone aircraft， traditional Chinese opera， glassware， fund management and poetry. Some are intended as tourist attractions， while others such as Dongwangji are production centres.

Lei Congrui， general manager of Midnight Charm， was one of the first entrepreneurs in Dongwangji to produce lingerie. The industry now employs 20，000 people in the town and the surrounding county， accounting for 60 per cent of China’s total lingerie production， according to the local government.

“This place didn’t really have any other industries besides farming， and people here didn’t really know how to do business，” said Mr Lei， whose company booked revenues of Rmb12m （$1.9m） last year， mostly from export to the US. “I taught a lot of my competitors how to do it. Now some of them are doing better than me.”

Many feature towns are located in poor， rural regions left behind by China’s rapid industrialisation. Experts say that if properly executed， the idea makes sense. But they also warn that the concept could be mis-used to fuel property bubbles or other wasteful investment.

“We must absolutely prevent the urban real estate model from migrating to small towns， which causes costs to rise and financial risks from property finance to worsen，” said Li Tie， director-general of the China Center for Urban Development， a think-tank under NDRC. “That’s the common problem with feature towns.”

Zhong county， a poor region outside the megacity of Chongqing in western China， is seeking to attract Rmb5bn in investment for a feature town devoted to competitive e-sports video gaming. A purpose-built 6，000-seat stadium hosted a national competition last year.

But at least five other localities are also developing online gaming towns. And unlike Dongwangji’s lingerie industry， Zhong county does not already have an existing e-sports economy.

Town and county-level officials have approved the plan for Dongwangji to gain official recognition as an “emotional interest underwear” feature town and are now seeking approval from the Jiangsu provincial NDRC.

Tang Jingdong， the town’s Communist Party secretary， said the project would enable small manufacturers to cut costs through collective purchasing of raw materials such as fabric.

“Once it’s approved， we’ll have land support， fiscal support， and lots of bank funding will flow in，” said Mr Tang. “This is a way to help our local residents escape poverty.”

中國一条新铺的乡道上，有一家狗肉餐馆，相隔几户是一家名叫“午夜魅力”的服装厂，专门生产透视连衣裙和“性感”制服。

10年前，江苏省东部的东王集镇还主要以种稻为生。今天，这里是中国生产女性内衣的大本营。

当地政府为推进一项“围绕特定产业发展、打造特色小（城）镇”的政策，大力支持包括“午夜魅力”在内的600余家女性内衣厂商。

该政策贯彻了习近平主席对于“政府引导市场”的构想：既要龙头企业国有化，更要引导个人投资优势行业。

去年12月，国家规划机关改革与发展委员会（简称“发改委”）提出：应“立足各地区要素禀赋和比较优势”选择特色产业，必须“准确把握特色小镇内涵”。

特色小（城）镇多地处大城市外围。2016年下半年，国家住房和城乡建设部公布了首批特色小（城）镇名单，凡127个。2017年8月，第二批名单公布，凡276个。截至2020年，住建部计划打造1000个特色小镇。

除女性内衣外，特色主题还包括宠物、巧克力、无人机、传统戏曲、玻璃制品、基金管理和诗歌。有些计划打造为旅游名胜，而东王集等地则想建成生产中心。

“午夜魅力”的总经理雷丛瑞是东王集镇最早从事女性内衣生产的企业家之一。据当地政府介绍，东王集镇及周边乡镇约有2万从业者，产量占全国女性内衣的60%。

“过去这里（指东王集镇）除了种植业，真的没什么产业，人们也不怎么会做生意。”雷丛瑞说。他的公司去年年收入1200万元人民币（合190万美元），其中多数来自出口到美国的订单。“我教会很多竞争对手怎么做，现在他们有些人做得比我还好。”

很多特色小（城）镇是在中国快速工业化进程中落后的贫困农村地区。专家表示，若政策执行得当，会收到成效。但他们也警告，“特色”名号可能会被误用去加剧房产泡沫或者其他无用投资。

“我们绝不能让城市房地产的模式延伸到小城镇，否则小城镇的购房成本也会上升，地产金融的风险会加剧，”发改委下属智库城市和小城镇改革发展中心主任李铁表示，“这是目前特色小镇的普遍问题。”

特大城市重庆市下辖的贫困县忠县正大力招商引资，计划引资50亿元人民币，建成电子竞技视频游戏特色小镇。忠县为举办全国电竞大赛专门建造了一座可容纳6000人的体育馆，去年举办了大赛。

与东王集的女性内衣产业不同，忠县并无现成的电竞特色的经济基础，且全国还有至少5个地区也在打造在线游戏特色小（城）镇。

东王集镇希望获得“情趣内衣特色小镇”的国家认定，目前县、镇级政府均已批准，正在等候江苏省发改委批复。

东王集镇党委书记汤景栋表示，一旦获得国家认定，小型生产商也可参与集体采购面料等原材料，生产成本会因此降低。

“一旦批准，我们将得到国家土地和财政的支持，很多银行的资金也会流入，”汤景栋说，“这是一条帮助我们老百姓脱贫的道路。”

（译者单位：复旦大学）