Material Empire

Guo Shuqing is an academic-born official. He has been working in the provincial policy research department for a few years. He was well received by provincial leaders for his keen thinking and outstanding writing skills. He was assigned to Yiping just after the unbelievable years. The city serves as secretary and is responsible for overall work.

Although he has never done actual work at the grassroots level, Guo Shuqing is no stranger to the rules of conduct of grassroots governments. He knows that cities and counties have long regarded economic development as the top priority of government work. Evaluating the performance of a secretary or mayor depends on how much capital has been introduced in their terms of office, how many enterprises have been established, and how much has been created How much output value has become the official practice.

Guo Shuqing didn't want to confuse himself with these colleagues. He hoped that he could become a maverick official. Only in this way could he stand out among the many bureaucrats at the same level. The post of Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee is unattainable to many people, but for Guo Shuqing, he is not satisfied. A secretary is nothing more than a department-level cadre. There are nearly 50,000 department-level cadres in all departments and bureaus under the central ministries and commissions, as well as more than 300 prefecture-level cities nationwide. If what he does is no different from others, how can he show himself among these 50,000 people?

After more than 20 years of rapid development, China has initially emerged from poverty and solved the problem of food and clothing for the people. After the issue of full food ceased to be difficult, discussions on the path of development became increasingly popular. In recent times, newspapers have frequently appeared saying "against the worship of gdp" and "the pursuit of gdp does more harm than good". Guo Shuqing was keenly aware of this trend and realized that it is not enough to stand out from others by doing a good job in the economy alone.

With this idea in mind, he did not develop the economy as aggressively as other clerks since he took up the new post. Instead, they are trying to find different development paths. He thought about promoting the city through culture, tourism, livability, leisure, and even religion. However, all these ideas have difficulties in concrete implementation, so it is difficult to introduce them as a policy. Gusev just threw him the concept of a post-industrial city. And claiming that this is a concept that is more than 50 years ahead of time, which made Guo Shuqing quite tempted.

in China. A criterion for judging the quality of a thing is "Western style". The so-called "Western style" is different from the things in China, with a touch of Western immortality. I do n’t see him. When real estate developers develop real estate, they often have to choose a name such as “Australia”, “Maple Leaf”, “Provence”, which makes people feel that the place they live in has a strong exotic flavor; there are some Consumer goods vendors are obviously producing stinky tofu and hot pepper sauce. However, a trademark of "Napoleon" or "Elizabeth" is going to appear, as if foreigners have eaten it and become a lot more noble. Even non-mainstream teenagers on the streets need to be dressed as Europeans with a copper ring on their noses. It is not too much trouble to eat.

At the level of experts and scholars, the performance will not be so tacky, but the essence is the same, that is, it must be based on Western theories, and do n’t pull Confucius Laozi and the like, it seems too soily. Guo Shuqing himself had this experience. When writing speeches for leaders, it would inevitably make people laugh if they quoted some ancient poems such as "hanging clouds and sails to save the sea". And if you can add a few words "Aristotle once said" or "Laplace has a famous saying", it immediately appears high-end atmosphere, which is the role of so-called western style.

The best way to put forward a new concept of urban governance and build a distinctive city is to learn from foreign countries. It is even better if we can use concepts that seem to be ahead of the world. Guo Shuqing is no stranger to the term "post-industrial", but connects post-industrial and cities. Still making him feel brighter, he foresaw. Gusev's visit will bring him unexpected results.

"Mr. Gusev, can I understand it this way. Do you think that cities should get rid of industrial functions so as to avoid the alienating effect of industry on people. However, if we give up industry, how can we achieve full employment and social development in cities?" Guo Shuqing asked shamelessly Road.

"The city should be a center of wealth gathering, not a center of wealth production. This is the consciousness that a city manager should have." Gusev said eloquently, and before Guo Shuqing questioned, he turned sharply and said: "Of course, for a country like China, it is still difficult to achieve complete de-industrialization. Your government needs gdp as a record of achievement. Is this so?"

Guo Shuqing felt a little hot on his face. He said, "I am extremely opposed to gdp worship. I don't think gdp can promote the welfare of residents. However, without gdp, it is difficult to solve the funds needed for urban development. How can we help What about citizens providing high-level services? "

"In our west, there are many quiet small cities. They do not have prominent industries. The income of residents has not increased for many years, but their lives are very comfortable and the living environment is very beautiful. You do n’t think this is a very good Is it a development model? "Ekin interjected.

"That's true." Guo Shuqing nodded. "I've been to some small cities in Europe. The environment in those cities is very good, but there are no industries in the area. I have never known how they did this."

"Through finance, information services, etc., it can also promote economic development. And this development model can better meet the needs of citizens. In the post-industrial era, people have given up the endless pursuit of money, and they are more willing to have leisure and The dignity of the job, "Gushev said.

"I feel the same way," Guo Shuqing said, "but it's not easy to do that, right?"

After hearing Guo Shuqing's words, Gusev and Ekin exchanged a look. They both realized that Guo Shuqing had been successfully introduced into the pit. The next step was how to fill the pit with soil. They came to China not far away, just to bring Chinese people into the pit?

"Of course, it takes some effort to transform an industrial city into a post-industrial city." Ekin Dao, "We come to Yiping today to introduce this path to Mr. Guo and your government officials. of."

"I would like to hear the details." Guo Shuqing sat upright, took a notebook, and prepared to take notes. This is also the habit he developed when he was the director of the political research department in the province. Whenever a leader speaks, he must record it without fail.

Ekindo: "We have inspected more than 200 cities around the world, including cities that have achieved post-industrial status, and cities that have not yet begun industrialization. Of course, the latter is mainly distributed in poor countries such as Southern Africa and South Asia. We believe that an industrial city To transform to post-industry, we need to go through three steps. The first step is to transform the industrial form from a heavy industry to a light industry, from a resource and capital investment to a technology investment. "

"Well said." Guo Shuqing nodded.

"The second step is to reduce the proportion of industry in the economy, increase the proportion of industries such as finance, technology, culture, and life services, and finally achieve de-industrialization. Then the third step is to transform the city's functions from economic development to humanistic care and realize Convenient living, clean environment, and political democracy are the characteristics of a post-industrial city. "Ekin continued to flicker.

"De-industrialization ..." Guo Shuqing chewed the words translated by Xu Yang, with a dignified expression on his face.

Xu Yangdao: "Secretary Guo, I think Mr. Ekin is right. When an expert came to Yiping to give a lecture last time, in today's world, first-class countries make brands, second-class countries make technology, and third-class countries make Products. Superpowers like the United States no longer develop industry. They only make brands and technologies. Only China is proud of foundry. If we want to stand out from the crowd, we should gradually realize de-industrialization and transform into a real First-class city. "

"This is a shocking expression." Guo Shuqing said with a smile.

"This is because Secretary Xu is a shocking leader." Xu Yang took a chance to make a fart.

"Xiao Xu, you have a technical background, how did you learn to make flattery?" Guo Shuqing pretended to be critical, but his voice was clear: young people are skilled and comfortable to shoot, I like it.

Xu Yangdao: "Secretary Guo ~ www.novelmtl.com ~ I think the idea that Mr. Gusev and Mr. Ekin talked about is very good. Our cadres and citizens in the city need to learn this idea. I suggest that they be invited to the city. It ’s a good idea for the cadres to do a training, and it is better to give the ordinary citizens several times for science popularization. This is very necessary for you to implement the new policy. "

"Well, that's true. I don't know if Mr. Gusev and Mr. Ekin have time." Guo Shuqing said.

Xu Yang translated Guo Shuqing's words, and Gushev's face showed a bright smile, saying, "We are very willing to do such a thing, which is itself the purpose of our institution."

"That being the case, then this matter will be implemented by your science and technology bureau." Guo Shuqing instructed.

"Understand!" Xu Yang stiffened and said happily.

Guo Shuqing didn't know. In fact, Xu Yang and Gusev and his party sang a double reed in front of him. Long before arriving at the municipal party committee, Gusev had already explained to Xu Yang the purpose of his visit, that is, he hoped to have an opportunity to educate the citizens about the concept of de-industrialization. He asked Xu Yang to help him create such an opportunity. In exchange, he could ask Blue Sky to help Xu Yang contact the opportunity of gold plating in Europe. (To be continued)