Chapter 1764: A Brilliant Concept

Of course, regional cooperation between just Changshan County and Wushui County is far from enough to achieve scale, but it is a good start. Two counties from Hudong Province and Jiangyou Province engaging in economic cooperation and producing such good results is something the neighboring counties have certainly seen; this is the demonstration effect.

The reason why Dashan, Muyang, and Shiyang counties were able to agree so readily to build roads together is naturally because this demonstration effect played a role; it is an important factor.

After the roads between Changshan County and the neighboring counties are all built, this Tianyue Mountain Range Economic Cooperation Zone will begin to take shape, and as the two counties that started economic cooperation earliest, Changshan and Wushui will naturally become the core of this economic cooperation zone.

Whether from the perspective of geographical location or first-mover advantage, these two counties are the undisputed core.

Yu Yan'an said: "Xinghui, this idea of yours is truly brilliant. How did you come up with it?"

Su Xinghui said: "Actually, it also has to do with Brother Junchu. Since he became the county magistrate in Wushui, there has been more economic cooperation between our two counties. Since we are two counties in two different provinces, this gave me inspiration and the idea to build a Tianyue Mountain Range Economic Cooperation Zone."

Su Xinghui's words are, of course, not entirely true; he has had this idea for a long time. However, mentioning Yu Junchu does him no harm, so why not do it?

Yu Kangzhan pondered and said: "This idea of yours is truly feasible and worth our deep reflection. I think some of our local leaders really need to learn from you young people, to broaden their horizons, and not always be confined to a small corner, always keeping their eyes on their own 'one mu and three fen of land.' That kind of mindset is truly too narrow."

Yu Yan'an said: "That's right. Breaking down administrative barriers like they have, closely linking several counties with similar geographical locations and terrain conditions, and complementing each other economically for mutual benefit is much better than 'closing the door to build a cart' and engaging in local protectionism. If the economy doesn't circulate, how can it develop?"

Yu Kangzhan said: "I think this model can be promoted."

Yu Yan'an said: "Promotion is not easy. It is truly too difficult to get two places with different administrative divisions to cooperate sincerely. Xinghui and Junchu are exceptions. Without such a demonstration effect, it is basically impossible to unite other places."

Yu Yan'an left one thing unsaid: in an economic cooperation zone, there must be a primary and a secondary among the cooperating regions. If it is not clear who is in the dominant position and who is in the secondary position, these regions will only fight tooth and nail; how can they cooperate sincerely? Not sabotaging each other would be considered very moral.

Changshan County is different because there is a Su Xinghui here. The development of Changshan County has already far outpaced the surrounding counties. Who is primary and who is secondary is clear at a glance; others can't compete even if they want to. Moreover, Su Xinghui is broad-minded and willing to help the surrounding counties develop. If others can't compete with Changshan County but can profit from cooperation, then accepting a secondary position is not so difficult.

Therefore, if this Tianyue Mountain Range Economic Cooperation Zone is truly established, Changshan County will definitely occupy the core position.

Yu Kangzhan nodded and said: "That's right. Current cadres have too many selfish thoughts. Even two counties in the same city sometimes fight to the death for rankings, let alone counties in different provinces and cities."

Yu Yan'an asked: "Then to what extent has your Tianyue Mountain Range Economic Cooperation Zone progressed now?"

Su Xinghui said: "Actually, it is still just a concept and has not been formally proposed. In fact, proposing it now would only invite laughter. We plan to do some practical things first, making the surrounding counties increasingly close in economic cooperation, becoming a de facto economic cooperation zone. By then, it will be a matter of course."

Yu Kangzhan said: "Then what practical things have you done?"

Su Xinghui said: "The roads from our Changshan County to Yulin City and Wushui County have been built, and the roads to Dashan, Muyang, and Shiyang counties will start construction after the New Year. They are expected to be completed and opened to traffic by the end of this year or early next year. Also, the construction of the slaughterhouse base can stimulate the surrounding counties to vigorously develop animal husbandry. These practical things can make the ties between these counties increasingly close."

Yu Yan'an said: "Then what do you plan to do next?"

Su Xinghui said: "Next, we plan to support them in developing industries suitable for their respective counties based on their characteristics, and industries that can absorb the resources and specialties of the surrounding counties—for example, tea factories, wineries, beverage plants, pharmaceutical plants, food factories, etc. By setting up one or two in each of the surrounding counties, each county can have its own pillar industry, achieving resource complementarity and common development."

Yu Yan'an and Yu Kangzhan looked at each other again. They couldn't help but be shocked by Su Xinghui's broad-mindedness and vision. If it were an ordinary person, how would they support other counties in developing these industries? They would be eager to pull all foreign investment into their own county and let other counties become their raw material suppliers.

But doing so works in the short term, not in the long term. It will make other counties unbalanced. Why should I be your raw material supplier? How much money can one make just by selling resources and raw materials? How much GDP can there be? Over time, they will have no motivation to develop these industries.

But by doing what Su Xinghui is doing, each county has its own pillar industry and can attract raw materials from neighboring counties, so everyone develops together and naturally has the drive.

This is called economic layout. This is the vision that a mayor, a governor, or even a premier should have, yet it has appeared in Su Xinghui. How could they not be shocked? And what shocked them even more than his vision was naturally Su Xinghui's broad-mindedness; his performance can be described as having the whole world in his heart.

They feel they can't even imagine what a person with such broad-mindedness and vision will develop into in the future. There are only four words to describe it: a boundless future!

Yu Yan'an said: "Then what else do you need our help with?"

Su Xinghui glanced at Yu Junchu, signaling him to speak. Yu Junchu bit the bullet and said: "Uncle, we have an idea: to build a highway from Changshan to Guangdong Province, passing through our Wushui County."

Yu Junchu's words shocked Yu Yan'an and Yu Kangzhan once again. Yu Yan'an asked: "Is this your idea?"

Yu Junchu said: "This is our joint idea."

Yu Yan'an said in a deep voice: "Do you know how much capital it takes to build a highway from Changshan to Guangdong Province?"

Yu Junchu said: "We have roughly calculated it; it should be over 10 billion RMB."

The people around them all gasped. Over 10 billion RMB—this is truly an astronomical figure. Even though Yu Ruizhi is already a billionaire, he is still far from this number.

Yu Junchu quickly said: "We have a way to avoid needing so much capital."

Yu Yan'an said: "Tell us about it."

Yu Junchu then repeated the concept Su Xinghui had told him that day to Yu Yan'an and Yu Kangzhan. Hearing this concept made their eyes shine—this is truly another brilliant concept!

Compared to the 10 billion RMB cost of building a new highway, after decomposing this plan, now only a total of over 1 billion RMB needs to be raised. This makes it no longer seem out of reach, but close at hand and within reach.

In fact, there is no need to worry about the mileage within Hudong and Guangdong provinces; both provinces are much wealthier than Jiangyou Province, so raising a few hundred million each is not a difficult task. The most difficult part is the capital raising problem in Jiangyou Province.