(Transcribed from recordings, with some edits)
Chairman Zhang Huarong, a native of Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, once served as a member of the 12th and 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and is also a standing committee member of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC), vice president of the East African Swimming Association, executive president of the East African Chamber of Commerce, and Goodwill Ambassador for African Industrial Development at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). In 1978, he joined the army and forged his resilience during a three-year service period, laying a good foundation for his future entrepreneurship. Upon returning home to start his business in 1988, he began with a small workshop and gradually expanded it into a large enterprise. With the success, he did not build a villa in his hometown, but donated a total of RMB 20 million for the construction of roads, bridges, and schools locally. He also established supporting funds of RMB 6 million earmarked for university students, the elderly, and villagers in need.
In 1996, he led 80 fellow Jiangxi natives southward to Dongguan, Guangdong Province, to expand business. They struggled with no orders and a lack of networking initially, but pulled through with strong will and became the core factory for Paramount, a renowned American trading company. In 2002, at the peak of his business in Dongguan, he chose to come back to Ganzhou, Jiangxi, for investment, seeing the cultural and integrity advantages of this revolutionary base area and settlement region of the Hakka people, a group famous for business ethics. His Ganzhou factory rapidly expanded to employ 20,000 workers, including 400 with disabilities. Most of them grew into skilled workers and technicians, making the enterprise a major contributor to local export earnings and tax revenue.
In 2011, he was invited to visit Ethiopia and decided to set up Huajian Footwear City in the Ethiopian Oriental Industrial Park. It took only 100 days from groundbreaking to production. Having attracted over 300 government officials and 600 enterprises for visits, the company made significant contributions to local investment promotion. In 2015, the Huajian International Light Industrial Park was launched, creating 8,000 jobs — including 30 for people with disabilities — and generating USD 188.3 million in export revenue, accounting for 67% of Ethiopia's total footwear exports. Covering 137.8 hectares, the new industrial park project was planned with an investment of USD 2 billion, boasting the potential to create 30,000-50,000 jobs. In 2017, he logged 630 flight hours and traveled 480,000 kilometers to work on the front lines, upholding the belief that "revolution is the capital of the body; as long as one engages in revolution every day, one will never get old."
In overseas investments, he adheres to lawful operations with a firm rejection of corruption. When tax officials asked for a bribe of RMB 20 million in exchange for waiving inspections, Zhang chose to report the incident and insisted on dealing with the case based on the law. The move earned the company the "Special Contribution Award for Anti-Corruption" — the only one among Chinese enterprises. Rather than hiring security firms, Zhang chose to build mutual trust with local communities to safeguard the enterprise. He actively supported local public welfare initiatives, including water supply, bridge and road construction, and nursing home funding, investing over USD 10 million in this regard. Many local employees use Chinese cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen as their Chinese names, expressing their hope that Ethiopia would flourish like these Chinese cities.
Zhang also prioritized employee well-being by providing free work meals and ethnic cuisines, as well as upgraded accommodation and bathing facilities. Many employees gained weight during their probation periods, reflecting improved living standards. As Africa's only uncolonized nation, Ethiopia possesses profound national pride and serves as the continent's political hub. With entrepreneurial responsibility, Chairman Zhang Huarong integrated industrial development with social accountability, advancing China-Africa cooperation while offering a replicable model for Global South development.