Twenty years of cold chain

"Compared to 85, the income gap between urban and rural areas in our country has widened by 85% in 20 years. After the reform and opening up, the urban economy took off, but it also drew away a large amount of rural labor, which reduced the enthusiasm for production in rural areas and widened the gap between the rich and the poor. Since the year before last, our country has entered a new stage of comprehensive rural reform. It can be said that the construction of new rural areas is the primary task to consolidate the achievements of development."

"As you can imagine, regardless of whether there is a financial crisis or whether foreign trade is smooth, the challenges of agriculture, rural areas, and farmers have always been there. Stimulating consumption, simply put, means getting people to spend more money and buy more goods, but the prerequisite is that people have money. For farmers, they have to sell first and then buy. If it is difficult to sell, it will be difficult to buy. Conversely, when farmers have stronger purchasing power, that is when consumption is truly stimulated."

Hu Shutong nodded repeatedly. The sluggish rural consumption has always been a major problem plaguing the market. The teacher is right; with such a massive rural population, stimulating their purchasing power would bring about a huge change in the consumer market. Moreover, upon closer examination, it has extraordinary significance and occupies an exceptionally high level of importance.

"Therefore, the Ministry of Commerce launched the 'Double Hundred Market Project' two years ago, aiming to create a distribution system covering both urban and rural areas by starting with circulation. The term 'modern logistics' is often on the lips of the industry. When people talk about 'modern,' they seem to think of technology and equipment, and that catching up with developed countries means we've entered modernization. But in reality, it's becoming more and more vague. If it can't reach the grassroots level in rural areas and drive the circulation of the entire nation's industries, then the so-called modern logistics is just a toad covering itself with gauze—the more it's covered up, the uglier it gets."

The "Double Hundred" Market Project is a special project for the construction of agricultural product markets, which was launched in 06. The government allocated financial subsidies to focus on the renovation of 100 large-scale agricultural product wholesale markets and 100 large-scale agricultural product distribution enterprises.

As he spoke, Pang Shiyou took out several documents from his briefcase. They recorded the typical achievements since the implementation of the "Double Hundred Project," including the three newly added markets in North China, whose transaction volume increased by as much as 7 million yuan compared to the previous year; the annual transaction volume of potatoes in Northwest China exceeding 45 tons after the completion of the cold chain project; and the "Double Hundred Market" in the southern coastal areas, which is introducing a large number of tropical fruits to China.

The "Double Hundred Project" was a national initiative belonging to a specific era. This project, which was rolled out across the country, will become an important driving force for vegetables and fruits to fully leave the countryside and enter the national market. It is a national strategy to ensure that "farmers have no shortage of goods and markets have no shortage of vegetables," and it will make an indispensable contribution to the abundance of our dining tables in the future.

Pang Shiyou didn't mention expanding domestic demand at all, but he talked about a deeper strategy for expanding domestic demand. He didn't see expanding domestic demand as a "cloud overhead," but rather as a wisp of mist through which the sun shines, which is a completely different starting point.

"So what the teacher means is..."

"Submit Tongxing's 'Double Hundred Market' plan ahead of time," Pang Shiyou said decisively. "The more attention is focused on the grants for expanding domestic demand, the more stringent the review process will become. Will the money be used effectively? Will some companies use it to embezzle funds? If things aren't handled well, the relevant departments won't be able to explain themselves to their superiors or subordinates. Especially when all of this is concentrated in one period, things will become extremely cautious, and it simply won't be implemented smoothly."

Pang Shiyou brought up the more complicated part of the matter: there were too many wolves and not enough meat, and it was real money at stake, so anything could happen in the ensuing chaos. While Hu Shutong was still debating the plan itself, Pang Shiyou started by addressing the issue from a timeline perspective.

"Shutong's application for subsidies is entirely reasonable, given that the 'Double Hundred Market' initiative receives government financial support. For this to succeed and achieve greater financial support, it's not about Tongxing competing directly with others for market share through unconditional grants to expand domestic demand. Rather, it's about Tongxing clarifying its positioning and explaining its upstream and downstream operations before encountering these unconditional grants. Tongxing doesn't compete for expanding domestic demand; it focuses solely on its 'Double Hundred Market' initiative and its focus on people's livelihood. This is where the difference lies!"

"Brilliant!" At this point, Hu Shutong suddenly became incredibly energized, as if he had grasped the essence of everything. He couldn't help but give a thumbs up in his heart. This wasn't just a simple preconceived notion. "Teacher, brilliant! How come I didn't think of that!"

Pang Shiyou's method can be said to have solved the problem in all aspects!

First, it addresses practical issues; the "Double Hundred Project" itself is a frontline effort, ensuring that the funds are traceable. Second, it transforms the general concept of expanding domestic demand into a focus on boosting farmers' purchasing power, revealing a "blue ocean" for stimulating consumption. Furthermore, combining these two aspects into one is both a practical measure for expanding domestic demand and a sound strategy for addressing rural issues.

What's even more encouraging is that it's not complicated to operate. Tongxing is not included in the transformation, but Tongxing's qualifications are far superior to those of the "Double Hundred" project. The market can drive the market, and enterprises can drive enterprises. It's about the "Double Hundred" project, but it's about the whole chain.

In this way, Tong Hsing has the highest "identifiability". As for the same industry-driven and people's livelihood-promoting approach, Tong Hsing has already laid out its entry point in advance and has filled in the gaps and done everything it should.

"Don't worry, policies are never about escaping specific circumstances at a particular time or place. Those who study policies understand this best. That's all I can think of. The rest is up to you to figure out. I'm just setting a framework."

"Teacher, I understand."

Pang Shiyou slowly stood up. "Shutong, money is never easy, even for grants. But this is crucial for Tongxing's future. Even for an old man like me, it's a rare opportunity. In any case, we must find a way to secure it. You're different from others; they either have a large corporation behind them or have secured a group of partners."

"For them, without this support, it's just a matter of losing a piece of meat. But if you can't absorb it, not only will the second phase fail to take off, but the first phase will also suffer."

……

I've loved cold chain logistics for twenty years.