Implementation of "World-Class Benchmarking Management Enhancement Initiative" - Chongqing Actively Cultivates Enterprise Exemplars with Core Competitiveness

Recently, Qingling's hydrogen-powered electric vehicles (registered in Chongqing) have achieved a cumulative operational mileage exceeding 1 million kilometers, setting a new global record for hydrogen fuel cell commercial vehicles in logistics applications. This milestone marks a major breakthrough in the industrial adoption of hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Sanfeng Environment under Chongqing Water & Environment Holdings Group has also announced a major breakthrough, with its subsidiary Sanfeng Covanta securing Asia's largest waste co-incineration project, solidifying its industry leadership.

Dencare Oral Care under Chongqing Light Industry & Textile Holding Group has recently submitted IPO application materials for listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's main board. Its core brand "Lengsuanling" holds approximately 60% market share in China's anti-sensitivity toothpaste segment, making it the market leader.

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In recent years, Chongqing has actively pursued the "World-Class Benchmarking Management Enhancement Initiative" to foster enterprises with core competitiveness. By continuously strengthening management capabilities and elevating operational standards, multiple state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have achieved remarkable results in building core competitiveness, establishing themselves as industry benchmarks.

Focused on key areas

Comprehensive benchmarking upgrades

In the second half of 2020, Chongqing launched the "World-Class Benchmarking Management Enhancement Initiative", driven by profound strategic considerations.

"While Chongqing's SOEs have made significant progress in management over the years, compared to world-class enterprises, there are still shortcomings in management systems, mechanisms, and institutional frameworks, which to some extent affect development quality and efficiency," said an official of Chongqing SASAC. Enterprises must pursue quality, efficiency, and growth through advanced management practices.

Under this Initiative, Chongqing has focused on eight key areas - corporate strategy, organization, operations, finance, technology, risk management, human resources, and information technology - and has refined 38 management improvement items while formulating 81 benchmarking standards. In addition, specific indicators were developed, with quantitative indicators emphasizing core enterprise metrics such as return on net assets, profit margins, and overall labor productivity.

With benchmarking systems and standards in place, key municipal SOEs have developed "one-policy-per-enterprise" implementation plans with clear timelines and roadmaps. The benchmarking initiative has achieved full coverage among municipal state-owned enterprises.

Learning from world-class benchmarks

to break through key sectors

In the process of benchmarking management enhancement, Chongqing has developed a distinctive reform approach by integrating world-class benchmarking with its own high-quality development objectives, advancing initiatives through project-based and checklist-driven methods in a unified manner.

Recently, Chongqing Chemical & Pharmaceutical Holding Group achieved global breakthroughs with two pioneering technologies, including its "Recovery and Treatment Technology for Oligomers, Salts, and Additives in PPS Production." Qingling Motors attained nine domestic-first innovations, such as its "Control Strategy for Eliminating Hydrocarbon Deposit Accumulation in Diesel Vehicle Oxidation Catalyst Aftertreatment Systems." Chongqing Machinery & Electronics Holding Group accomplished complete domestic substitution with proprietary technologies like its "Design Technology for Complete Gear Processing Machine Tools and Tools."

An analysis of these enterprises' core competitiveness reveals a common strategy: learning from industry-leading global players, strengthening forward-looking deployment in emerging technologies and strategic sectors, increasing R&D investment to cultivate "distinctive advantages," while refining tiered R&D systems, enhancing collaborative innovation, and improving incentive mechanisms. These measures have collectively accelerated breakthroughs in critical core technologies.

Meanwhile, Chongqing's key municipal SOEs have unanimously embraced digitalization and intelligentization to drive management transformation.

For instance, Shouxun Technology under Chongqing Expressway Group, developed and operates the "Expressway Cloud" platform. By deeply integrating cutting-edge technologies like big data, internet, and artificial intelligence, it enables more timely and refined traffic updates while providing big data analytics for expressway operations and emergency rescue coordination.

Chongqing Three Gorges Bank has launched an innovative panoramic platform using 360° customer profiling, earning it a spot on the second "FinTech Innovation Regulatory Sandbox" list of the Chongqing Municipal Branch of the People's Bank of China for exemplary applications.

The Chongqing Grain Reserves Group Co., Ltd. adopted advanced scientific grain storage techniques and accelerated informatization under its "Information + Intelligence + Storage + Processing" initiative, equipping granaries with a "Long-Distance Surveillance System" that serves as a critical safeguard for regional grain storage security.

Taking the lead in sci-tech innovation

Benchmarks continuously established

Recently, 16 Chongqing-based institutions have been approved to establish national-level postdoctoral research workstations, with SOEs like Chongqing Construction Engineering Group Corporation (CCEGC), Chongqing Pump Factory (now Chongqing Pump Industry Co., Ltd.), and Dencare Oral Care. Market observers note that this reflects these enterprises' foundational capabilities in scientific research and innovation, while the postdoctoral research workstations will further enhance their core competitiveness.

"We will fully leverage these enterprises' exemplary, pioneering, and breakthrough-driving roles, effectively communicate reform achievements, establish advanced models, and propel reforms forward," stated a representative from Chongqing SASAC. The city has systematically categorized, summarized, and refined the successful management enhancement practices of outstanding enterprises, creating benchmark enterprises, benchmark projects, and benchmark models.

At the national level, Qingling Motors has been designated as a benchmark enterprise by the SASAC, while Chongqing Rural Commercial Bank's "Intelligent Digital Banking Platform for Perception and Cognitive Capabilities" has been selected as a national-level benchmark project.

At the municipal level, nine enterprises including Chongqing United Assets and Equity Exchange Group, Chongqing Yufu Holding Group, and Chongqing Xingnong Financing and Guarantee Group were recognized as Chongqing benchmark enterprises. Seven projects from enterprises like Chongqing City Investment Jinka Information Industry (Group) Co., Ltd., Chuanyi Automation Company, and Smart Logistics Company received Chongqing benchmark project honors. Moving forward, the city will intensify efforts to promote these benchmark enterprises and projects, effectively guiding all enterprises to proactively align with benchmarks, address management weaknesses, and elevate management standards.

Source: Chongqing Daily