Relocation pioneer awaits rest of clothing industry’s arrival

Chen Bingliu relocated his dressmaking company from Beijing to Hebei province’s Yongqing county in July, getting ahead of the government’s plan to move clothing manufacturing and other industries out of the capital.

He found being among the first to relocate to a development zone about 40 km south of Beijing had its benefits and drawbacks. Some of his costs were lower, but he encountered challenging transportation and worker recruitment issues.

Chen first considered relocating his Beijing Yingke Clothing in 2009. He bought the land and started factory construction the next year. “Though relocation was not compulsory at the time, I knew it was a trend for the noncapital indus- tries, such as clothing manufacturing and wholesale markets, to move out of the capital,” he said.

The cost of relocation was negligible, but there were steep challenges after the move, Chen said.

Transportation from Yongqing to Beijing posed logistics problems, for example. On average, two freight cars of clothes were sent to the capital each day to be distributed across the country by plane, train, truck and ship. The freight cars had to cross two checkpoints to exit Hebei and enter Beijing, resulting in a one-way trip of more than two hours, Chen said.

“Usually, there was a long queue waiting at the checkpoints due to heavy traffic and inefficiency,“said Chen, adding that this drove up the cost of logistics. “If we were still in Beijing, there would be no such problems.”

Another problem was recruiting workers in Hebei. Chen’s new factory is four times larger than his Beijing operation, but its output has not increased by the same proportion due to a shortage of workers.

Local workers account for only 5 percent of the factory’s staff, as they lack experience and expect high salaries.

Most of his staff, who come from the southern provinces of Sichuan and Fujian, are older workers who followed him from Beijing, but prefer the capital for its better public services, such as medical care and education, and the after-work lifestyle.

Chen’s factory is located in a development zone in its early stages, surrounded by a deso- late landscape that lacks the capital’s entertainment opportunities.

“Even though the local government has offered to help with the staff’s household registrations and children’s education, I still worry about losing employees,” said Chen

“I know the current situation is not as satisfying as in Beijing, but there’s still a promising future,” he said. “The capital’s new airport is only 35 km away from my company, even nearer than Beijing’s Sixth Ring Road.”

Beijing Daxing International Airport will be put into operation in 2019.

The Jingtai Expressway, which runs from Beijing’s southern Daxing district to the capital’s Fifth Ring Road, is also under construction. It will cut Chen’s driving time from Yongqing to less than 40 minutes.

“I hope more companies can start their businesses here, so my company will not be alone and services such as logistics can be improved when the place is filled with thriving companies,” Chen said.

Chen’s company was the first to operate in Yongqing International Clothing City, which covers an area of 20 square kilometers and has signed contracts with nearly 700 dressmaking companies. Scores of these companies are currently building factories, said Zhang Yuyu, a Yongqing government official.

“In the future, we will build a modern logistics system and carry out measures that are conducive to attracting logistics companies to make investments here,” Zhang said.

I know the current situation is not as satisfying as in Beijing, but there’s still a promising future.”

Chen Binliu, owner of a dressmaking company

ZHANG YU / CHINA DAILY A dressmaking factory owned by Chen Bingliu, which was relocated from Beijing, is the first to operate in Yongqing International Clothing City in Hebei province.