Wenzhou exports many items such as tea, wine, timber and jute. It is particularly rich in a mineral known as “alunite”, which is used in making alum and fertilizers. Wenzhou is also sometimes referred to as the ‘alunite capital of the world’.
Paper and electronics industries also flourish here. Manufacturing of low voltage electrical appliance units gained a sudden impetus when joint ventures involving international players such as GE and Schneider were started here.
This port is also a site for oil and petroleum exploration and the crude oil found here is said to be of the purest qualities and is one of the easiest to separate out in various forms. Oil and natural gas operation have been largely disappointing, but nevertheless, companies like Shell and Chevron have identified this spot as a possible oil reserve for the future and have invested heavily in exploration projects in this area. This sector involves risk, but promises the maximum potential for a foreign player.
The business culture of Wenzhou is one of the finest in the world and carries with itself a sense of urgency and progressiveness. Wenzhou is accredited as being one of the first cities on China to encourage budding enterprises and building a shareholding economy. Infact, Wenzhou was the first city in China to capitalize on the new reforms pertaining to open economic policies and was one of the major attractions to FDIs from all over the world.
The per capita income of Wenzhou residents is the third best in China, and all this is attributed to the high density of people from this town being successful emigrants, sending huge sums of money back home. Wenzhou is said to be the home of China’s open market economy and associated reforms. It is also said to be amongst the first in establishing small scale and home based manufacturing industries. Wenzhou’s success on the private economy front has served as an inspiration for other giants of Chinese economy as we know them today, including Shanghai, Guangdong and Hong Kong.
It all began at Wenzhou, and it is because of this reason that the Chinese call the Wenzhou style of economic turnaround ‘The Wenzhou Model’, which has served millions of budding entrepreneurs to establish themselves and the Chinese economy in general.