Chaozhou City in 2004 was named “China Porcelain Capital”, For nearly a decade, the rapid development of the ceramic industry, is one of the most important ceramic production bases in Guangdong and even China ceramics. As the primary pillar industry of Chaozhou, the ceramic industry has been emphasized and supported by the Chaozhou government, which has a relatively complete industrial chain and obvious industrial clusters, but it is not able to play a good role in the agglomeration effect to form a regional competitive advantage and shape the regional brand. Based on the development history of the Chaozhou ceramic industry, domestic and overseas markets, industrial clusters, and spatial distribution, this paper discusses how the Chaozhou ceramic industry should be reformed and upgraded.
Chaozhou ceramics industry development overview
Long history of development
The Chaozhou ceramics industry has a long history, and it is known as Jingdezhen. Unearthed artifacts show that as early as 4,000 years ago in the Neolithic period in the Chaozhou area has been the emergence of ceramic handicrafts; Tang and Song dynasties, Chaozhou became an important base for the production of southern ceramics; Chaozhou ceramics are also exported through the “Maritime Silk Road” to the South China Sea countries. According to the record, in 960 AD, the Indonesian merchant Li Fu especially after two months of sea voyage to Chaozhou, with spices, rhinoceros horn, and ivory in exchange for Chaozhou ceramics.
Development status
Since the reform and opening up, Chaozhou has become one of China’s largest ceramic production areas, is also China’s largest ceramic export area, the largest sanitary ware production base, the largest electronic ceramic substrate production base. From the supply of raw materials, manufacturing, logistics and distribution, and then to sales, and complete supporting facilities, the industry chain is becoming more and more perfect. At present, Chaozhou ceramics industry in terms of scale, or output value beyond the famous ceramics origin in Jingdezhen. Ceramics and its ancillary products annual output value of about 50 billion yuan, and the city’s annual production of daily-use ceramics, craft ceramics and sanitary ware production accounted for 25%, 30% and 50% of the country respectively. After years of accumulation, the development of Chaozhou’s ceramic industry is highly recognized by the outside world.
In 2013, the National Light Industry Characteristics of regional and Industrial Clusters Work Conference awarded Chaozhou the title of advanced characteristics of industrial clusters. Chaozhou City has more than 10,000 private ceramic enterprises and 40 million related employees.
The city’s regional layout of ceramics has formed a good situation with Fengxi as the leader to drive the other counties and districts to compete for the development of the industry, the industrial space characteristics are obvious, and the counties and townships show obvious specialization characteristics. Raoping County, Chaoan County, Guxiang Town, and Fengtang Town were awarded the titles of “China’s daily-use ceramics export township”, “China’s first town of sanitary ceramics” and “China’s ceramics town”.
Chaozhou ceramics industry market analysis
The new millennium, with the sustained development of the domestic economy, triggered a huge demand for sanitary ceramics, architectural ceramics, daily-use ceramics, fine art ceramics, and electronic ceramics. At the same time, the reform and opening up has also brought about a rapid increase in international trade in ceramics, with the location advantage of Chaozhou ceramics, exports have always been one of the main channels of its sales. Strong growth in domestic and foreign market demand, prompted Chaozhou ceramics on a large-scale, specialization, cluster development road.
Domestic market
Daily-use porcelain, art porcelain and bathroom porcelain are the three major characteristics of Chaozhou ceramics products, but enterprises by market demand for innovative varieties, but also the production of antique ceramics, environmental protection porcelain, porcelain, ashes, electronic ceramics and other categories of products.
With the domestic economic growth, transportation and logistics industry and the rapid development of e-commerce, Chaozhou ceramic enterprises not only through wholesale and retail stores to open up the market but also through the network business to occupy a larger share of the domestic market, eliminating the circulation of layers of additional, factory direct sales, so that the Chaozhou ceramics to win the favor of domestic consumers with good quality and low prices. At the same time, the Chinese consumer’s concept of more and more internationalization and diversification, for the purchase of household containers, kitchen and bathroom layouts is no longer the traditional porcelain as the theme of the pursuit, based on the performance, creativity, safety and affordable considerations, a lot of new materials or new forms of products are challenging the authority of traditional porcelain, on the one hand, the ceramics industry, especially like most of the imitation of processing enterprises in Chaozhou caused pressure, on the other hand, also prompted the ceramic production of technological innovation, the production of ceramics. On the other hand, also prompted the ceramic production of technological transformation and product innovation, to promote the development of the industry as a whole.
Foreign markets
In the past decade, the Chaozhou ceramic industry to export-oriented, and continues to develop overseas markets, a wide range of export products, and exquisite craftsmanship, sold all over the world, to the United States, Europe, ASEAN, and the Middle Eastern countries as the main export market, the city’s daily-use ceramics exported to the world’s 166 countries and regions. 2013, in Chaozhou City, ceramics commodity exports amounted to 996 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 4.03%; accounting for 35.7% of the total exports of the city. 35.7% of the city’s total exports, 16.1% of the export value of ceramics in Guangdong Province, and 16.1% of the export value of ceramics in Guangdong Province.
16.1% of the total export value of ceramics in Guangdong Province, the national ceramics export value of 5.2%; exports ranked first in Chaozhou City, the eight pillar industries exports, is the city’s clothing exports 2.5 times, electromechanical products 2.6 times, footwear % 4 times, the pillar industry effect is significant. But from the export trend, Chaozhou ceramics exports in 2008 for 600 million U.S. dollars, after three consecutive years of sustained growth to 1.03 billion U.S. dollars in 2011 “by the slowdown in the international economy and the impact of weakening demand in foreign markets, exports fell to 958 million U.S. dollars in 2012, in 2013, although there is a slight increase, but the increase is weak, only 3.97%.
In the face of the foreign anti-dumping and weak market situation, Chaozhou Ceramics relies on the cost-effective advantage of export export mode needs to be changed.
Industrial clusters and spatial distribution
Spatial distribution of industry
In the layout of the industry, Chaozhou Fengxi is currently positioned as the city’s ceramic industry, the core of the three centers, research and development, manufacturing, and distribution functions in one. Chaoan is positioned as a sanitary ceramics-based manufacturing base, and Rao Ping is positioned as a daily glass ceramics-based manufacturing base. In addition, the industrial spatial layout generally follows the point-axis-surface pattern. Among them, Fengxi is the growth pole of Chaozhou ceramics industry, Guxiang Town and Fengtang Town in Chaoan District are relatively concentrated economic activities, becoming the sub-center of the ceramics industry in the region, Fengxin Street in Xiangqiao District, and Sanrao Town and Xinfeng Town in the northern mountainous area of Raoping District are the traditional potential development areas, and ultimately the formation of the main points of the difference between the main and secondary.
Chaozhou has built professional ceramic industrial parks such as Ruyi Industrial Park in Fengxi District, Railway Station Industrial Park, Dongyun Piece Industrial Park, Qianlong Industrial Park in Raoping, Sanrao Industrial Park, etc. However, many enterprises are still decentralized, which makes it difficult to unify management and supervision. Due to the lack of unified planning of land in Chaozhou in the early days, in addition to Rao Ping County, other counties and districts have land constraints, and ceramic enterprises lack land to expand the scale of the spread to the surrounding suburbs and townships, the layout of enterprises appeared to be “small and comprehensive”, “blossom everywhere! “The phenomenon of which there is no lack of low productivity of small enterprises, is not conducive to the formation of organic cluster effect, resulting in a waste of energy and raw materials, environmental pollution problems have gradually emerged.
Cluster and agglomeration effect
Industrial cluster refers to the production or distribution in close contact or the layout of the same direction of industrial enterprises by a certain ratio and scale concentrated in a specific advantage of the location. This kind of concentration often brings agglomeration effects, such as the full sharing of infrastructure and market, technology exchange and healthy competition to bring about an increase in efficiency.
At present, the pattern of the Chaozhou ceramic industry cluster is large enterprises rare, not many medium-sized enterprises, or small enterprises. Enterprise level is low, and ceramic production enterprises are often due to competition, to prevent technological spillover factors such as failure to form a synergy to build a strong competitive body, in the situation of solo industry has formed a complete industrial chain, but the enterprises are not organically gathered together. Upstream and downstream enterprises also failed to organic convergence, many enterprises due to supporting enterprises of low grade, low quality, or to reduce costs to vertical integration of business is not conducive to ceramic production enterprises and upstream and downstream supporting enterprises between the links. In addition, Chaozhou ceramics are mainly export-oriented processing, specialized markets in the articulation of downstream trade and sales links play a very limited role, and the production base is not closely linked. In this way, “small and comprehensive” industrial characteristics are more prominent, the division of labor between the relevant enterprises is not strong, can not form an organic community, risk-sharing, benefit-sharing, and thus can not form a strong regional industrial competitiveness, as the leading industry’s diffusion effect is also very limited, can not pass the competitive advantage to other industries.
Chaozhou ceramic industry upgrade direction
- Innovation and quality improvement: increase investment in R&D and design, development of high value-added products.
- Optimization of industrial layout: rational planning of land use, promoting enterprise collaboration, avoiding decentralized operations, improving production efficiency and environmental friendliness.
- Brand building and market expansion: Utilizing the historical background of Chaozhou as the “Porcelain Capital of China”, shaping the image of international brands, and utilizing e-commerce to expand market share.
- International cooperation: dealing with trade barriers, introducing advanced technology, and looking for new export opportunities.
- Improvement of industrial chain: Strengthen upstream and downstream connection, develop logistics and after-sales service to provide customers with a more comprehensive service experience.
- Government support: The government provides policy, financial and technical support, and organizes training and exchanges.
