East China's historical city Quanzhou sets to be added to UNESCO's "City of Gastronomy" list, focusing on not only preparing tasty cuisines, but also building a mature supply chain.
As a famous historical and cultural city in China, Quanzhou used to be selected as an UNESCO heritage site. This city is currently endeavoring to establish a new signature of gastronomy.
"These are traditional dishes with a long history, like this beef. Quanzhou has along history of cooking beef. This dish has curry inside, which was an import from southern Asia. This black chicken is a specialty of Quanzhou," introduced by Liu Shuwen, the president of Quanzhou Cuisine Association.
Liu said that becoming a city of gastronomy can promote the sales of local agricultural products and ingredients to the whole country and even the whole world.
When it comes to culinary, the origin of an ingredient can strongly affect its flavor. Some local dishes can only be made with local ingredients to obtain the special flavor, strengthening the uniqueness of food.
"Our ingredients including Dehua Black Chicken, Fujian Wine, Dehua Camellia Oil are all from local places," said Hu Canhui, the chef of Zayton Courtyard.
An hour and a half away from the center of Quanzhou City, Dehua County is situated as a distribution center for local agricultural products. The Dehua Black Chicken is a landmark agricultural product which is raised free-range in the mountains.
As the head of Daiyun Farmers Cooperatives, Zeng Xianzhong started to raise black chickens since 2011. Now around 350,000 chickens are raised every year.
"Our chickens are widely sold in supermarkets and communities. We are now planning to build an industrial park, because we have to make pre-cooked food for cross-provincial and even global trade," Zeng said.
The mature industrial chain and the increasing food consumption market are the bases to support Quanzhou's bid for the "City of Gastronomy".
"Behind the delicious cuisine lies the service industry which is related to people's wellbeing. We want to engage in this industry because food connects everything. The purpose of our bid for City of Gastronomy is not only to enhance the Quanzhou's reputation, but more importantly, to gain benefits for our people," said Lin Wenchao, Deputy Director of Quanzhou's Special "City of Gastronomy" Team.
East China's Quanzhou City aims to become city of gastronomy
Since the beginning of this year, China's financial sector has further improved financing services for small and micro enterprises, particularly by addressing financing blockages for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), amidst the country's strengthened support for businesses in recent years.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission recently issued a document addressing the blockages in the financing process of MSMEs.
According to the document, the range of entities eligible for liability exemption upon fulfilling due diligence has been broadened to cover loans in key areas such as small and micro enterprises, self-employed individuals, owners of small and micro enterprises, and farmers. This move aims to effectively reduce the burden on grassroots credit personnel and address their concerns regarding lending.
Meanwhile, the scope of renewal has been broadened from certain small and micro enterprises to include all small and micro enterprises.
It is specified that small and micro enterprises with working capital loans and owners of small and micro enterprises, self-employed individuals, and farmers who continue to require financing after the loan terms can seek renewal support from banks.
To enhance support for small and micro enterprises, coordination among different national departments, as well as between national ministries and local governments, is growing increasingly tight.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and the National Development and Reform Commission have established a coordination mechanism to bolster financing for small and micro enterprises.
For instance, special teams have been set up at the county and district levels throughout China to comprehensively assess the financing needs of small and micro enterprises.
For small and micro enterprises with genuine financing needs and good credit standing, banks are required to complete credit approvals within one month in principle, guaranteeing direct access to credit funds for these enterprises.
As of the end of August this year, the balance of inclusive loans to small and micro enterprises nationwide reached 31.9 trillion yuan (around 4.5 trillion U.S. dollars), doubling that at the end of 2017, with the average interest rate decreasing by a cumulative 3.5 percentage points.
By the end of September, the six major commercial banks - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Agricultural Bank of China (ABC), Bank of China (BOC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Bank of Communications (BCM), and Postal Savings Bank of China (PSBC) - have collectively extended over 2.2 trillion yuan (around 310.9 billion U.S. dollars) in newly added inclusive loans to small and micro enterprises this year.
China's financial sector further removes MSMEs' financing blockages in 2024
