The 12th Zhigang Think Tank Conference: Wanshinda Leads the New Future of China-Indonesia Cooperation
From March 29 to 30, 2025, the 12th Zhigang Think Tank Conference, themed “The Return of the Monkey King,” was successfully held at the Silver Lake Conference Center in Shenzhen. This conference delved into the development journey of China’s private economy over the past four decades since the reform and opening up. It also engaged in extensive and in-depth discussions on four major themes: “New Tourism, New Consumption, New Quality Productivity, and Corporate Expansion Overseas.”
As a representative of the typical enterprises in the “China-Indonesia Twin Parks” national strategy, Mr. Chen Riling, Chairman of Wanshinda Group, was invited to attend and delivered a keynote speech titled “The Next Twenty Years—Indonesia” in the “Corporate Expansion Overseas” session. He reviewed the development history of the enterprise and systematically analyzed the investment opportunities in globalization, which attracted high attention from the attending entrepreneurs.
A Gathering of Industry Leaders: The New Mission of the Private Economy
Wang Zhigang, founder of Zhigang Think Tank, stated confidently in his opening speech: “Over the past four decades of reform and opening up, the private economy has evolved from a ‘necessary force’ to an ‘inevitable force,’ with its strategic status undergoing a fundamental transformation.” He pointed out that the new generation of entrepreneurs born in the 1980s and 1990s are reshaping the global business ecosystem with innovative thinking in digital technology and industrial collaboration. “The ‘Monkey King’ of the private economy is no longer confined to a corner but has become the core engine driving high-quality economic development.” This assertion resonated strongly with the entrepreneurs present.
Yu Minhong, founder of New Oriental, followed with insights from the perspective of entrepreneurial spirit: “A true global journey requires a free and open-minded attitude. In the face of market upheavals, one should not be anxious or complain; when encountering difficulties, one must dare to break conventions; and in fierce competition, one must maintain strategic focus and not be blinded by short-term interests.” He called on entrepreneurs to stay true to their original aspirations in the tide of the times, “not only to keenly capture trends but also to anchor their direction with values, achieving abundance in both career and life.”
Wanshinda’s Choice: Anchoring Indonesia in the Tide of History
“Standing at the crossroads of history, we not only witness the brilliance of the globalization process but also feel the call of the times to join hands and move forward,” said Mr. Chen Riling, Chairman of Wanshinda Group, in his keynote speech at the overseas expansion session. He reviewed the journey of Wanshinda Group from deepening its domestic market to rising on the international stage. The tempering of four decades of reform and opening up has endowed this enterprise, which started in 1998, with the hard-core strength to explore the global market—from Guangzhou to Myanmar, from Vietnam to Indonesia, each strategic choice is imprinted with the resilience gene of China’s private economy.
“Choice is more important than effort. Wanshinda’s decision to build a factory in Indonesia is not only for the growth of the enterprise but also a response to the national strategy, building a bridge for China-Indonesia economic and trade cooperation.”
When discussing the strategic considerations for choosing Indonesia, Chairman Chen Riling used a set of data to illustrate the huge potential of the Indonesian market: A population of 270 million brings consumption upgrades, with an average annual consumption growth of 15%, creating a trillion-yuan market; the country’s 22% of the world’s nickel ore reserves and an industrial electricity price of 0.5 yuan per kilowatt-hour reshape the cost advantages of manufacturing; at the same time, the China-Indonesia “Twin Parks” strategy and the policy dividends of the RCEP have jointly propelled Indonesia to become a frontier area for infrastructure upgrades and digital economic development.
China’s Southeast Asia Answer
In his speech, Chairman Chen Riling also took the China-Indonesia Twin Parks·Bantang (KITB) Wanshinda Industrial Park, built by Wanshinda Group, as an example to demonstrate the “inevitable force” of China’s private economy in the tide of globalization. This 1,000-hectare industrial new town, as the core carrier of the China-Indonesia economic and trade innovation and development demonstration zone, is reshaping a new paradigm for corporate overseas expansion through three breakthrough measures:
Policy Support: The park enjoys the “dual licenses” of a bonded area and a special economic zone, including tax exemptions for 5 to 20 years and zero tariffs on equipment imports. These preferential policies have attracted many Chinese enterprises, forming a cluster of new energy and intelligent equipment industries.
Cost Advantage: The labor cost in Central Java Province is only one-third of that in Vietnam (with a monthly salary of 1,100 yuan), complemented by a self-built 50-megawatt photovoltaic power station that achieves an industrial electricity price of 0.35 yuan per kilowatt-hour. The overall manufacturing cost is reduced by 40% compared to domestic levels.
Construction Speed: By adopting modular construction technology, the delivery cycle of steel structure factories is only three months, which is 40% shorter than the standard domestic construction period.
Wanshinda’s Vision for the Future
Looking ahead, Wanshinda will continue to deeply implement the “South-South Cooperation Industrial Hub” strategy. It plans to complete the development of the 1,000-hectare Bantang Industrial Park by 2026, attract 200 enterprises to settle in, and create hundreds of thousands of job opportunities. At the same time, it will replicate the “park + community” model to other countries, and through “photovoltaics + minerals” green development, it will solve the “resource curse.”
As Chairman Chen Riling said, “What we bring is not only factories but also a sustainable development civilization paradigm. This is the mission of the times for Chinese enterprises and a vivid interpretation of the ‘community with a shared future for mankind.'”
