On March 18, the "Ningde-CIB Chain Exploration & Smart Energy Innovation" Fujian Provincial County-Level Key Industrial Chain "Quad-Chain Integration" Industry-Finance Matchmaking Conference was held in Ningde. Zhang Yongning, Deputy Secretary of the Ningde Municipal Party Committee and Mayor, and Chen Xinjian, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and President of China's Industrial Bank (CIB), attended the event. Organized by CIB as the inaugural event of the Nine-City Initiative for the "Quad-Chain Integration" Industry-Finance Matchmaking Conference, the conference received strong support from provincial and municipal departments including the Fujian Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, the Fujian Provincial Department of Science and Technology, as well as the Ningde Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology and the Ningde Municipal Bureau of Science and Technology. It attracted over 200 participants, including leading enterprises in the new energy and new materials sectors such as CATL, Tsingtuo Group, SIKO, and XTC New Energy; academic and research institutions including Ningde Normal University, CATL Innovation Laboratory, and Tsingtuo Group Research Institute; and financial institutions such as Fujian Investment Group and Industrial Bank, bringing together the collective strengths of "government, industry, academia, research, and finance" to jointly compose a new chapter in the "Quad-Chain Integration".
In recent years, Fujian Province has vigorously carried forward the important concepts and major practices pioneered by General Secretary Xi Jinping. The province has consistently prioritized the development of core county-level industrial chains as a strategic and long-term initiative. By leveraging technological innovation to drive new productive forces, the province has deepened the integration of innovation, industrial, capital, and talent chains. Through systematic planning and chain-building efforts, institutional mechanisms have been accelerated, agglomeration effects intensified, industrial ecosystems continuously optimized, demonstrating a flourishing landscape of diversified development. Ningde's Jiaocheng, Quanzhou's Jinjiang, Fuzhou's Changle, Xiamen's Haicang... A succession of county-level industrial "golden brands" have emerged and gained prominence. The sustained vigorous development of key county-level industries provides solid support for Fujian's pioneering efforts in advancing Chinese-style modernization. The recently concluded National Two Sessions' Government Work Report explicitly outlined initiatives to vigorously develop county-level economies and promote integrated development of technological and industrial innovation. This further charts the course for advancing the "Quad-Chain Integration".
As a core coastal city in northeastern Fujian, Ningde has taken a leading position in driving high-quality development of county-level industries. Dang Shuai, Vice Mayor of Ningde, stated that Ningde has always kept in mind General Secretary Xi Jinping's earnest instructions, fully carried forward the Mindong spirit of "the weak bird takes flight first and water droplets eventually penetrate stone," introduced and nurtured leading enterprises represented by CATL, Tsingtuo, and China Copper, forged industrial chains and built industrial clusters, developing four internationally competitive 100-billion-level pillar industries, namely lithium battery new energy, new energy vehicles, stainless steel new materials, and copper materials, blazing a Ningde path of reform and innovation in achieving high-quality leapfrog development.
Zheng Wei, Deputy Director of the Fujian Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, emphasized that the county-level economy serves as the "ballast stone" for Fujian's high-quality development, while the "Quad-Chain Integration" is the key to solving challenges. Ningde's remarkable transformation from a "golden fracture zone" to a "new industrial highland" precisely epitomizes Fujian Province's efforts in advancing the "Quad-Chain Integration" and building a modern industrial system. Moving forward, Fujian will focus on industrial chains as the core to promote tiered cultivation of manufacturing enterprises, supporting counties to develop leading enterprises with revenues exceeding billions and tens of billions to drive SMEs' "chain-integrated development"; leverage innovation chains as the driving force by increasing support for corporate R&D investment, vigorously developing strategic emerging industries as well as specialized, sophisticated, distinctive and innovative "Little Giant" enterprises, organizing provincial key technological innovation and industrialization projects, and promoting the application of first-set major technical equipment; treat capital chains as the lifeblood through innovations in financial instruments like technological transformation funds and industrial investment funds to guide more capital into county-level key industrial chain enterprises and future industries; and build talent chains as the foundation by supporting Ningde's integrated investment and talent attraction through platforms like the World Energy Storage Conference, introducing leading industrial teams and Taiwanese youth talents, facilitating cooperation between major research institutions and Ningde's county-level key industrial chain enterprises, and establishing special expert committees to provide technological breakthroughs and innovation support for industrial chain enterprises.
Finance serves as the lifeblood of the real economy, playing a pivotal role in supporting industrial development, driving innovation and upgrades, and attracting talent concentration. Ye Yuanhang, Deputy General Manager of Fujian Investment Group, stated that in participating in the "Quad-Chain Integration", Fujian Investment Group has actively deployed major infrastructure construction projects and strategic emerging industries on one hand, promoting the clustering, high-end, and intelligent development of industrial clusters; on the other hand, the group has leveraged various financial license resources to participate in building a multi-level financial service supply system, effectively supporting the high-quality development of key county-level industrial chains in Fujian. He expressed the hope to join hands with all sectors of society in exploring cooperation opportunities and innovating collaboration models, so as to achieve mutual benefits and common development while promoting the integration of technology with industry, finance and talent, thereby further boosting the vigorous growth of Ningde's new energy and new materials industries and injecting stronger momentum into the city's economic development.
As the only national joint-stock commercial bank headquartered in Fujian, over its 37-year history, CIB has remained deeply rooted in the land of Fujian, and has consistently prioritized serving Fujian's economic development as its mission, solidifying its role as the province's financial mainstay and vanguard. The bank has achieved over 2 trillion yuan in outstanding financing across Fujian Province while maintaining its consecutive "Five-Star Bank for Fujian Economic Service" recognition.
An official from CIB emphasized that, as the financial main force serving Fujian and Ningde, the bank has significantly increased its support for key county-level industries across the province since the 14th Five-Year Plan period, with approved credit exceeding 244 billion yuan, representing a twofold increase. In Ningde, CIB has deepened its engagement in the new energy and new materials industries, concentrating on key "golden baby" enterprises. The bank has become CATL's primary credit provider and launched the "Xingneng Loan" product to serve CATL's supply chain partners, executed Fujian's inaugural green electric vessel financing deal, extended loans for the first "Made-in-Fujian" pure electric mining truck, emerged as Tsingtuo Group's largest credit partner, and provided over RMB 11.4 billion in diversified financing to enterprises across Ningde's new energy and materials industrial chains, strengthening, complementing, and extending these chains. Looking ahead, CIB will intensify its commitment to Ningde by leveraging finance's connective power across industries. The bank will holistically advance innovation chain leadership, industrial chain collaboration, capital chain support, and talent chain empowerment. By deepening partnerships with leading research institutions, universities, and major platforms, the bank will empower industry champions to scale new heights, amplify comprehensive financing initiatives, and support the convergence of tech talent in eastern Fujian for innovation-driven entrepreneurship, propelling Ningde's industrial development to new levels and composing fresh chapters in eastern Fujian's high-quality growth.
At the event, Jiaocheng District, Fu"an City, Fuding City, Xiapu County, Gutian County, and Dongqiao Development Zone of Ningde, signed cooperation framework agreements with CIB's Ningde Branch, further deepening government-bank collaboration and expanding capital provision. Meanwhile, CIB's Ningde Branch signed credit agreements with XTC New Energy, Tsingtuo Heavy Industry, Skeqi, Siying Logistics, Yanan Power, and Guolong Nano, totaling RMB 1.841 billion and covering sectors such as battery materials and intelligent equipment. During the enterprise and expert sharing session, Zhu Chen, Deputy Director of CATL's 21C Innovation Laboratory; Chen Qingke, President of Qingtuo Group; and Lu Zhengwei, Chief Economist of CIB, shared insights on how the capital chain can synergize with innovation, industrial, and talent chains to support enterprises in technological breakthroughs, equipment upgrades, and business expansion. Experts emphasized that the "Quad-Chain Integration" hinges on the capital chain, whose effective operation relies on collaboration among fiscal policies, policy finance, and commercial finance. They recommended that achieving "Quad-Chain Integration" requires a coordinated effort across fiscal funds, policy finance, seed capital, private equity investments, commercial banks, and capital markets to provide full lifecycle funding services for industries, thereby driving high-quality development in county-level industrial clusters.
As the inaugural session of Fujian Provincial County-Level Key Industrial Chain "Quad-Chain Integration" Industry-Finance Matchmaking Conference, the event's success in Ningde established a replicable model for the other eight cities in the province, including Quanzhou, Xiamen, and Fuzhou. It is reported that in addition to the industry-finance matchmaking event, CIB has launched the "Revitalizing Fujian, Pioneering New Paths" special research initiative targeting key county-level industrial chains across Fujian province. Focusing on the province's most competitive county-based industrial chains, the research conducts in-depth studies of key chain enterprises, specialized and sophisticated "Little Giant" firms, and innovation-driven entrepreneurs. By analyzing the development status of these priority industrial chains—particularly the integration between capital chains and industrial chains—the research aims to identify bottlenecks, pinpoint obstacles, and diagnose challenges to drive process optimization and innovative financial product development, ultimately empowering Fujian to strengthen, upgrade, and scale up its strategic county-level industrial chains. To date, CIB has visited and researched over 600 enterprises and served more than 700 innovative entrepreneurs across the province.
Moving forward, CIB will align with Fujian Province's strategic deployment for the "Quad-Chain Integration" of industrial, innovation, talent, and capital chains while upholding the political and people-centric nature of financial services. The bank will deepen its diversified "online + offline," "commercial banking + investment banking," and "financial+non-financial" service models to accelerate high-quality development of county-level industrial chains in Fujian, and contribute greater strength to composing the Fujian chapter of building a modern socialist China in all respects.