Five Years of Collaboration: An Unbreakable Bond Between Guangdong and Guizhou—A Review of East–West Collaboration between Guangzhou’s Huangpu District and Dushan County during the 14th Five-Year Plan Period

RMB 205 million in fiscal aid has been effectively implemented and yielded tangible results; 117 assistance projects have borne fruit; RMB 543 million in corporate investment has injected new vitality; RMB 2.035 billion worth of specialty agricultural products have enjoyed strong sales in eastern regions; and 22,033 rural workers have secured new employment through labor migration…

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Huangpu District of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, and Dushan County of Qiannan Prefecture, grounded in the new stage of development, have continuously deepened the substance of their regional cooperation in accordance with the principle of “meeting central requirements, addressing Dushan’s needs, and leveraging Huangpu’s strengths.” They have focused their efforts on targeted initiatives in areas such as post-relocation support for relocated residents, industrial development, labor-service collaboration, education and healthcare provision, and mobilization of social resources, thereby delivering an outstanding performance that earned zero feedback in the national performance assessment.

“Parents are now employed at the community’s Guangbang Workshop, while their children attend a paired-assistance kindergarten in Huangpu District—this has become the new normal for residents of the community,” said Zhao Yuansheng, Party Secretary of the Yanjiashan Community Party Committee and Director of the Residents’ Committee in Dushan County. He added that, as one of the larger centralized resettlement areas for relocation projects in Dushan County, Yanjiashan Community has seen its prospects steadily improve thanks to the dedicated and heartfelt support provided by Huangpu District.

Over the past five years, Huangpu District has invested a total of RMB 14.93 million to tailor a “Secure Housing + Prosperous Employment + Good Governance” support program for Yanjiashan Community: the Tongxin Square, which integrates leisure and fitness facilities, has become a popular post-meal hangout for residents; an employment-assistance workshop has helped nearly 300 relocated residents balance earning a livelihood with caring for their families; a smart management and control system has been installed to establish a comprehensive safety defense combining human and technological safeguards; and a family education initiative has been implemented to enhance the mental well-being of women and children, earning the project recognition as a “2022 National Women’s Federation Case of Reform and Innovation in Women’s Work.” Yanjiashan Community has since received numerous honors, including “Guizhou Province Demonstration Site for ‘Industry Plus East–West Collaboration,’” “National Model Age-Friendly Community,” and “Guizhou Province Model Collective for Ethnic Unity and Progress.”

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Huangpu District focused on the centralized resettlement areas for relocated residents in Dushan County, allocating a total of RMB 90.395 million in special support funds to help the relocated population transition from “being able to move” to “staying put and achieving prosperity.”

Sustained “Hematopoiesis” to Solidify the Industrial Foundation

Industry is the “engine” of rural revitalization and the core lever for collaboration between eastern and western regions. In early winter 2025, more than 20 enterprises in Dushan County’s Bearing Industry Park were operating at full capacity to fulfill orders, their roaring machinery composing a symphony of increased incomes for local residents and robust industrial growth.

“With 4.9 million yuan in assistance funds, we undertook a series of equipment upgrades that significantly boosted production efficiency and product precision, thereby breaking through the bottleneck in product quality,” said Cao Chunhua, Executive Deputy General Manager of Guizhou Yuancheng Industrial Co., Ltd. He added that the infusion of aid funds from eastern regions has greatly alleviated the company’s working-capital constraints, bolstering its confidence and capability to expand production and capture market share.

Coincidentally, since 2023, Guizhou Fengda Bearing Co., Ltd. has successively secured three east–west collaboration funding projects totaling RMB 11.6 million, which have facilitated the company’s equipment upgrades and a doubling of production capacity, boosting its annual output value from just over RMB 10 million to more than RMB 30 million. “The bearing industry park testing center built with aid from Huangpu District was completed and put into operation in 2023, offering more than ten types of testing services that have provided robust support for the company in reducing costs, improving efficiency, strengthening quality control, and enhancing market competitiveness,” said Xie Zhiwei, Deputy General Manager of Guizhou Fengda Bearing Co., Ltd. According to reports, the east–west collaboration initiative has also led to the establishment of a specialized bearing training base, which conducted 16 training sessions in 2025 alone, educating 569 trainees and thereby providing crucial talent support for the development of the bearing industry.

In support of the traditional, competitive tung oil tree industry, Huangpu District has allocated RMB 2.3 million in collaborative funding to establish the Tung Oil Tree Industry Research Institute, which has helped cultivate 800,000 to 2 million high-quality seedlings annually, boosted the industry’s output value to over RMB 30 million, and directly created employment and increased incomes for more than 3,000 local residents.

Over the past five years, the two regions have adhered to the principles of “tailoring measures to local conditions, market orientation, and complementary advantages,” vigorously supporting local specialty industries such as bearings and tung oil trees to foster self-sustaining industrial development. A total of 11 eastern enterprises have been guided to establish operations in Dushan, with new investments amounting to RMB 543 million. Meanwhile, specialty industries such as edible mushrooms, tea, and live pigs have been cultivated and expanded, creating employment for 2,027 rural workers, including 514 formerly impoverished individuals. In addition, a modern agricultural industrial park has been jointly developed, attracting additional investment of RMB 154 million from resident enterprises and thereby strengthening the foundation for stable income growth among local residents.

Empowering with Intelligence and Adopting Multiple Measures to Benefit the People

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Huangpu District has focused on improving people’s livelihoods and leveraged its resource advantages to promote social welfare through a multi-pronged approach that integrates talent support, infrastructure development, and technological empowerment. In the area of educational assistance, the two regions have innovatively established a four-dimensional support system characterized by “resource sharing, targeted capacity building, comprehensive student care, and robust infrastructure,” under which 26 high-quality schools in Huangpu District have been paired with 39 schools in Dushan County, enabling students in Dushan to benefit from higher-quality educational resources.

For five consecutive years, the Studio of Zhu Suiqing, a renowned class teacher from Guangdong Province, has been deeply rooted in Dushan County, conducting 68 public-service training sessions that have reached 12,267 primary and secondary school teachers across the county, significantly enhancing the professional competence of Dushan’s class-teaching workforce. Meanwhile, Huangpu District has allocated collaborative funding to establish specialized psychological support platforms at Dushan No. 5 Primary School and Dushan No. 3 Middle School, while also introducing research resources on mental health education and deploying expert mentors on-site to address critical gaps in youth mental health education.

Over the past five years, Huangpu District has dispatched a total of 75 outstanding teachers to Dushan County to provide educational support, while Dushan County has sent 126 teachers to Huangpu District for on-the-job training. A total of 159 sessions of education and training have been conducted, reaching 21,886 participants and steadily enhancing the quality of education and teaching in Dushan County.

Medical assistance has also yielded remarkable results. An expert team from the Huangpu District Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital introduced innovative integrated TCM–Western medicine diagnostic and treatment approaches to Dushan County, successfully resolving numerous challenging clinical cases; furthermore, the Oncology Interventional Department of Dushan County People’s Hospital was awarded approval for one research project by the Guizhou Provincial Health Commission. Two hospitals in Huangpu District have been paired with three hospitals in Dushan County, continuously enhancing Dushan’s medical service capabilities, culminating in the successful upgrade of Dushan County People’s Hospital to a Grade-III general hospital.

Employment is the most vital aspect of people’s wellbeing. Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan, Huangpu District and Dushan County have established a comprehensive, end-to-end collaboration mechanism encompassing labor export, skills training, and job placement. Through measures such as setting up labor service workstations, delivering customized training programs, and organizing specialized recruitment events, they have ensured that Dushan County’s workforce can not only leave their hometowns but also secure stable employment and earn higher incomes. Over the past five years, the two regions have jointly conducted 83 market-oriented, customized training courses, providing skills development to 2,580 rural workers. Since 2021, through east–west collaboration, Dushan County has facilitated the employment transfer of a total of 22,033 rural workers, including 13,160 who had recently emerged from poverty. This labor cooperation has not only boosted local incomes but also cultivated a pool of skilled professionals, thereby building a valuable human resource base to support the development of Dushan County’s local industries.

Multifaceted Collaboration: A Warm Current of Compassion Unites Strength

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Huangpu District has actively mobilized diverse stakeholders to participate in assistance efforts, fostering a collaborative support framework characterized by “government guidance, enterprise leadership, and social participation,” thereby ensuring a steady flow of compassionate aid to Dushan County.

Guangzhou Xingsen Quick Circuit Technology Co., Ltd. has donated a total of RMB 5.1115 million, and the employment assistance workshop it helped build in Wangcheng Community, Dushan County has created jobs for 120 people, earning it the title of “Outstanding Employment Assistance Workshop of Guizhou Province.” Meanwhile, four district-level government agencies in Huangpu District have established targeted pairing relationships with five villages in Dushan County, while 26 schools, two hospitals, and three social organizations have each been paired with specific villages or communities, thereby establishing a comprehensive, multi-tiered, and widely inclusive assistance network.

Over the past five years, Huangpu District has mobilized various sectors of society in the eastern region to donate funds and materials worth RMB 15.9988 million to Dushan County, thereby injecting strong social momentum into consolidating poverty-alleviation achievements.

Talent support serves as the core pillar of intellectual assistance. Huangpu District has, to date, dispatched six Party and government officials for secondment and sent 75 professional and technical personnel to provide medical and educational support; Dushan County, in turn, has dispatched 41 Party and government officials for secondment and training and 126 professional and technical personnel for on-the-job learning. By establishing and improving mechanisms for care and concern, seconded officials are enabled to fully serve as bridges and links.

Five years of collaboration have forged an unbreakable bond between Guangdong and Guizhou. The pairing assistance initiative between Huangpu District and Dushan County has not only consolidated and expanded the achievements of poverty alleviation and advanced rural revitalization, but has also nurtured a deep friendship rooted in mutual support and joint progress. As they embark on a new journey, the two regions will continue to deepen their cooperation, stepping up efforts in areas such as industrial upgrading, talent exchange, and improvements in people’s livelihoods, thereby jointly writing a new chapter in East–West collaboration for the new era.