Taizhou offers miniature example the transformation of China's economy
City offers a small example of steps taken and obstacles faced in transforming mainland economy
Zou Jianqing's property businesses once boomed in Taizhou , a coastal city in Zhejiang . Now he wonders if he can sustain his ventures in the next decade because government policies have cooled real estate demand.
Erecting five-star hotels and modern shopping malls is one of his options, as the city aims to lure more investors from the outside while increasingly rich local residents are wanting more high-end brands.
Taizhou, on the country's east coast, is already home to one of the nation's most ambitious private entrepreneurs, Li Shufu, who led Geely Auto to acquire Volvo Car in 2010. Zou is one of many entrepreneurs hoping to further transform this city.
He has been working with Yintai Group, a retail conglomerate, to pour billions of yuan in capital into a shopping centre in the popular old district of Jiaojiang. The partnership is building a 300-metre-high Sheraton Hotel in a commercial complex in Wenling that is scheduled to open next year.
Taizhou offers a miniature example of the bold steps transforming the mainland economy but also highlights the problems businesses and workers face.
Beijing has urged provincial authorities in Taizhou and throughout the country to boost consumption, increase industrial productivity, cut pollution and register more migrants as city dwellers.