Towards Co - creation of the Industrial Ecosystem: Exploration of Differentiated Strategies and Practical Paradigms of County - level Government Investment Funds in Free Trade Ports
At the new historical juncture, the global economic landscape is being reshaped, and China is in a crucial stage of transforming old growth drivers into new ones. The grand blueprint of the 15th Five - Year Plan is gradually unfolding. Core competitiveness stems from high - level scientific and technological self - reliance and the cultivation of new - quality productive forces. Against this backdrop, the traditional path relying on land and resource expansion has shown diminishing marginal effects. The coordinated fiscal and financial approach of "precision drip - irrigation" has become a strategic necessity. Government investment funds and industrial guidance funds, as key tools to connect the government and the market, pool patient capital, and catalyze industrial transformation, their development models and operational efficiencies are directly related to the quality of regional economic transformation. However, with increasingly prudent supervision (such as the strict control of newly established county - level funds in Document No. 1 issued by the General Office of the State Council in 2025), the policy orientation has clearly shifted from the previous "capital reinvestment" - driven investment promotion to the fundamental transformation of providing "patient capital", cultivating long - term value, and building an open industrial ecosystem. As the basic unit of the national economy, how can county - level economies find their own coordinates in this transformation to drive high - quality development? What is the strategic value of county - level funds?
Based on the initial practice in Chengmai, I believe that the core challenge of county - level funds lies in breaking out of the "fund tool theory" in terms of pattern and upgrading to the "ecosystem theory". The successful path is not to mechanically copy the models of developed regions, but to creatively build a full - chain operation framework centered on the endogenous value of industries and symbiotic networks on the basis of deeply understanding the national top - level design and drawing on the essence of the experiences of first - tier cities and advanced industrial parks, combined with local resource endowments. Chengmai's practice, especially the preliminary exploration around county - level funds, industrial cultivation, park operation, and cross - regional cooperation, lies in systematically promoting the transformation from the grass - roots permeable and passive "capital investment promotion" to the government - led top - level design and multi - party participation in "industrial ecosystem co - construction", forming a new logic for county - level industrial development with certain representativeness.
I. Evolution of the administrative field, reshaping of trends and contexts: The new - era mission of government investment funds
Under the policy keynote of strong compliance, de - leveraging, and pursuit of quality, government investment funds have entered a new stage of structural optimization and functional iteration. Their mission is shifting from "expanding scale" to "deepening industries" and from "attracting phoenixes to build nests" to "cultivating forest ecosystems". Currently, the core policy orientation has clearly targeted the cultivation of "patient capital", "long - termism", and "industrial chain resilience". County - level governments need to find a new path in this macro - context that can obtain support from superior policies (in line with stricter new regulations) and maximize local comparative advantages.
(I) The "three coordinates" of policy orientation evolution: Compliance, focus, and long - term effectiveness
Since 2025, the top - level policy framework has delineated a clearer coordinate system for the operation of government investment funds, especially county - level funds.
1. High - point: Strengthening compliance orientation and setting thresholds. The core spirit of Document No. 1 issued by the General Office of the State Council is to prevent risks and improve efficiency. This precise "strict control" is not a "ban", but rather puts forward higher requirements for the efficiency of local fiscal fund use, especially the real industrial cultivation ability of county - level finances. This policy intention clearly points out that the success of county - level funds does not depend on quantity and scale, but on whether they are truly based on a clear industrial strategy, professional operation ability, and sustainable business model. For counties with relatively limited financial resources, this is both a constraint and a compass for high - standard development.
2. Focus point: The functional positioning shifts from "investment promotion" to "deep - rooting and strengthening the foundation". The policy clearly requires that funds should not take investment promotion as the core purpose, but focus on weak links in the industrial chain, breakthroughs in key core technologies, and long - term value cultivation. This means that the core KPIs for measuring fund performance in the past, such as the reinvestment ratio and the number of settled projects, are gradually being replaced by more connotative indicators, such as the improvement of the completeness of the local industrial chain, the success rate of incubating innovative enterprises, and the contribution to the regional science and technology innovation ecosystem. When implementing the free trade port policies and undertaking industrial gradient transfer, Chengmai must also internalize this orientation into the investment principles of funds, paying more attention to the "chain - supplementing, chain - extending, and chain - strengthening" effects of projects on the local industrial ecosystem, rather than just investment figures.
3. Extension point: The operation mechanism emphasizes marketization and patient capital. The policy encourages the cancellation or significant reduction of administrative restrictions such as the registration place of fund managers and the reinvestment ratio, and emphasizes "risk tolerance" and long - term assessment for early - stage investments and hard - technology projects. This calls on local governments to examine the value of funds from a longer - term and more professional perspective. Shenzhen's "19 Measures for Venture Capital", Suzhou's practice of patient capital, and Hangzhou's fault - tolerance mechanism for early - stage investments are all early explorations under this trend. If county - level funds want to survive and develop, they must implant the "patience" gene into decision - making and assessment mechanisms, not pursuing short - term results, but focusing on a 5 - to 10 - year or even longer industrial cultivation cycle.
(II) The "two faces" of the national development trend: Structural reconstruction and county - level differentiation
1. At the macro level: The fundraising environment is tightening, and the pattern of "state - owned capital leading and focusing on emerging industries" is being strengthened. According to data statistics from third - party institutions, in 2025, the fundraising scale of government - guided funds shrank structurally, and the proportion of state - owned capital (including government platforms) as limited partners (LPs) continued to remain above 80%. The flow of funds is highly concentrated in hard - technology and emerging industries such as integrated circuits, biomedicine, artificial intelligence, new energy, and new materials, which are in line with national strategic orientations. This shows that homogeneous funds simply chasing hot spots will face elimination, and only funds that truly focus on core technologies and have differentiated enabling capabilities can win the favor of mother funds and social capital.
2. At the micro level: The development paths of counties are differentiating, and the trend of "one - county - one - policy and ecological enabling" is prominent. Under strict policy control, the number of newly added county - level funds is limited. This prompts existing and qualified counties to pay more attention to "stock operation" and "precise innovation". Their development shows the following characteristics: ① Differentiated positioning: Closely combine local resource endowments and the "one - main and N - characteristic" industrial planning. For example, agricultural counties can set up special funds around agricultural product processing and smart agricultural technology; ② Systematic enabling: Beyond the investment behavior itself, fund operation deeply intervenes in enterprises' technology docking, market development, talent introduction, and services. Chengmai's current "industry, finance, credit, and media" enabling service system is an exploration of this model, which helps to form a closed - loop of "investment - service - reinvestment"; ③ Collaborative linkage: Actively connect with provincial - level, municipal - level, and even national - level guiding funds. By setting up parallel funds and accepting investments, counties can leverage the brand, capital, and project networks of higher - level resources. This transformation from "single - point investment" to "three - dimensional enabling" is the key for county - level funds to achieve value leapfrogging.
(III) The essence of county - level challenges: Crossing the "three barriers"
1. The first barrier: The dilemma of resource constraints. County - level fiscal funds are limited in scale, have weak attractiveness to top - tier GPs, and lack the ability to directly invest in or co - invest in major projects. Considering the characteristics of counties being at the front - line of scenarios, counties can shift to "ecological value injection", not simply competing in terms of capital amount, but providing a combined and integrated policy package (such as industrial land, talent services, market scenarios, and free trade port policy guidance), as well as in - depth cooperation opportunities for industrial ecosystem co - construction, to magnify the leverage effect of limited funds.
2. The second barrier: The dilemma of capacity mismatch. Most counties lack professional investment teams, risk control systems, and market - based incentive mechanisms. They "wear new shoes and walk on old roads", with low decision - making efficiency and high investment risks. By learning from Shenzhen's "weak intervention" and "professional outsourcing" models, counties can build a division - of - labor mechanism of "the government determines the strategy, the platform attracts resources, and professional institutions carry out operations" to upgrade to a systematic "investment value - added service package".
3. The third barrier: The dilemma of industrial rooting. Traditional capital investment promotion tends to introduce "flying - in projects", which are "not acclimatized" to the local industry, have weak driving effects, and are prone to hollowing out once the external environment changes. Counties need to shift to the "chain - leader leading + local cooperation" model. Focus on one or two core industrial tracks, support or introduce chain - leader enterprises through funds, catalyze them to build supply chains and innovation chains locally, and cultivate local supporting partners to form industrial clusters with strong roots. Chengmai has accumulated preliminary experience in industrial project implementation, with a government - coordinated mechanism in place and the implementation concept of "no matter how late today is, it's still early; no matter how early tomorrow is, it's still late" and "decide and act, keep promises and act immediately". It needs to further upgrade to the role of "industrial partner".
The above mainly describes the policy environment, market dynamics, and core challenges faced by current government investment funds, especially county - level funds. China is in a crucial leap - forward period from "financial support for the real economy" to "deep integration of capital and industry". Against this backdrop, county - level funds should not rush to chase hot spots but return to the essence of the integration of industry and capital - providing the most suitable financial soil for value creation.
II. Re - examine the pioneers, deconstruct the models and extract the genes
By reviewing the models of Hefei, Shenzhen, Suzhou, and Zhangjiang, the commonality of their success does not lie in fixed operational steps, but in the methodology of "industrial value co - creation" and the systematic thinking of "ecological operation" behind them. These models provide a toolbox of thinking rather than construction drawings for county - level funds. Taking Chengmai County as an example, the key task is to absorb the core genes of "patient capital", "ecological enabling", and "multi - right linkage" and creatively adapt and integrate them with local strategies and resources.
(I) The "underlying codes" of the four mainstream models can be refined into three common evolutionary directions
1. From "point - style investment promotion" to "chain - style breakthrough". Represented by Hefei and Suzhou, the core is to conduct precise combined attacks on capital, policies, space, and services around the preset industrial "value chain". Through breakthroughs at key nodes (such as introducing BOE and Innovent Biologics), the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain can be quickly connected to form a cluster effect. This is an industrial attack paradigm with precise guidance and high - level resource coordination.
2. From "direct investment institutions" to "platform ecosystems". Represented by Shenzhen and Suzhou, the core is that the government's role has changed from a direct decision - maker to an ecological rule - maker and infrastructure provider. By setting up pre - service simplification processes (such as Suzhou's dual - filing mechanism), building capital docking platforms (such as Dongsha Lake Fund Town), and creating "base + fund" entities (such as Zhangjiang Hi - Tech), an industrial blood - circulation system with low friction, high efficiency, and accurate information matching has been constructed.
3. From "investing shareholders" to "value partners". The Zhangjiang Hi - Tech model is an extreme example. The core is to deeply bind the full - life - cycle value of enterprise growth. Through methods such as "rent for equity" and "factory building investment", the government platform and enterprises form a close community of interests and development, sharing the growth benefits of enterprises. This is a deep - cooperation model with risk sharing, benefit sharing, and long - term companionship.
(II) Insights from the practice of Chengmai County's investment funds and industrial guidance funds
Through Chengmai County's existing practice and policy exploration, the signs of an upgrade to "ecological co - construction" have initially emerged.
1. Build attractiveness through the construction of the business environment. As a demonstration county for the business environment in the Hainan Free Trade Port, Chengmai takes "respecting entrepreneurs, approaching entrepreneurs, caring for entrepreneurs, and serving entrepreneurs" as the ideological guidance for investment promotion personnel. Combined with the construction of collaborative enabling capabilities, Chengmai has accumulated policies in major project construction and business environment optimization, and has the prototype of a service with "rapid response, process optimization, and proactive service".
2. Tap industrial scenarios to provide traction. Currently, Chengmai has five "hundred - billion - level" leading industrial clusters, including digital economy, advanced manufacturing, oil and gas exploration and production services, tropical characteristic high - efficiency agriculture, and modern logistics; supports the implementation of four emerging industrial scenarios, including marine, aerospace, green energy, and bio - manufacturing; encourages the synergistic effect of artificial intelligence as an "innovation application high - ground" and computing power; and is also deeply exploring five "going - global" tracks, including gaming, cross - border e - commerce, manufacturing, new energy vehicles, and digital culture, which is an embodiment of tapping scenarios in combination with industrial practice.
3. Release supporting force through industrial policies. In addition to the fiscal and tax policies (low tax rates, zero tariffs, and simplified tax systems) granted by the state to Hainan Free Trade Port to reduce the operating costs of enterprises coming to Hainan and the "five freedoms" + "safe and orderly data flow" to improve the allocation efficiency of production factors for enterprises coming to Hainan, Chengmai is also formulating corresponding industrial policies in combination with the industrial development encouraged by the provincial department and its own endowments to form a policy combination, so that enterprises coming to Chengmai can know, understand, and enjoy the policies.
4. Use funds and post - investment enabling tools to form catalytic force. For projects that meet industrial support and resource matching, dual enabling of "soft services and hard investments" can be provided to invested enterprises, which is the concretization of "ecological enabling". If this "integration thinking" is continuously applied to the industrial tracks supported by funds, and market access, standard improvement, and large - scale application scenarios are introduced to enterprises, the superimposed effect of "fund enabling + industrial integration" can also be achieved.
In addition, in the exploration of risk sharing and policy toolbox coordination, when combined with more flexible risk compensation funds and the investment structure of mother funds, multi - level capital support and risk sharing can be provided for enterprises in specific industries or specific stages (such as early - stage technology and agricultural - related small and micro enterprises), forming a multi - level irrigation system of "policy - based guarantee + risk compensation + guiding fund co - investment". Chengmai County is actively exploring the preliminary policy tools and foundation for the transformation from simple project services and administrative management to a higher - level industrial ecosystem organizer. Weaving the capital power of funds with the existing administrative services, industrial integration, and risk management capabilities into an industrial support network with linkage response and collaborative enabling has a more "investment moat" effect than simply competing in capital strength, and is also a feasible path for counties to leverage their comparative advantages.
III. Chengmai's practice: Building a new four - dimensional integration paradigm of "fund - base - industry - service" in a free trade port county
Chengmai County's differentiated exploration and practice path is not to start from scratch, but to creatively transform and integrally implement national strategies and provincial plans at the county - level. The core lies in having a "chemical reaction" between its existing policy toolbox (such as minimalist approval), industrial foundation (digital economy, oil and gas services), and provincial support (special industrial town funds, cultivation of innovative counties) and the concept of modern government investment funds to build an "industrial ecosystem construction system" covering the whole cycle, all elements, and the whole chain. The ultimate goal of this system is to transform the government from a fund distributor and manager to the "chief architect" and "value co - creation partner" of the county's strategic industries.
Chengmai's action plan can be summarized as "one core positioning, three upgrading paths, and a set of combined tools".
(I) Strategic core positioning: The 'Northern Industrial Value Discovery and Enabling Center' of the Hainan Free Trade Port
Chengmai County's development should be considered in the context of the integrated economic circle of "Haikou - Chengmai - Wenchang - Ding'an" and the high - tech industrial pattern of "two zones, three cities, and six parks" in the whole province. Its core advantage lies in the dual superposition of location and policies: it is not only a core part of the provincial capital economic circle, adjacent to ports and airports, but also home to key parks such as the Hainan Eco - Software Park and Jinma Logistics Park. Therefore, the positioning of Chengmai's county - level funds should go beyond "supporting local enterprises" and be upgraded to a new - type infrastructure that serves the "45432" modern industrial system of the free trade port, especially in sub - sectors such as digital economy, oil and gas services, and modern logistics, and uses capital as a link to discover, aggregate, enable, and magnify relevant industrial values.
(II) Three systematic upgrading paths