A Tale of Two Cities Supporting Xinjiang

Han Jidong dialed General Manager Li's number, and it rang for a long time before being answered.

"Mr. Han, I was just about to call you!"

Mr. Li sounded very excited, "Good news! Two million yuan in aid funds for Xinjiang has been approved! Although it's not a lot, it should be enough to solve our immediate problem."

Han Jidong breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great, Mr. Li, thank you so much!"

"Don't thank me yet, there's even better news."

Mr. Li smiled and said, "Of the Dalian companies I contacted, three are willing to participate in the investment."

A logistics company and two agricultural product traders together can contribute 1.5 million.

However, they all insisted on going to Xinjiang for on-site inspections to see firsthand the sources of goods and transportation conditions.

"No problem, you're welcome anytime!"

After hanging up the phone, Han Jidong stood on the street and suddenly felt his legs go weak.

In just three days, he actually managed to fill the funding gap of eight million bit by bit.

He called Lao Wang: "Mr. Wang, the funding issue has been resolved."

"The social capital is 3.2 million, the Dalian aid-to-Xinjiang fund is 2 million, the Dalian enterprise investment is 1.5 million, plus the company's 3 million, which is not only enough, but also has a surplus."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone before Old Wang finally spoke: "You little rascal... you actually managed to get it done."

"It was accomplished by everyone working together."

Han Jidong said sincerely, "Now you can see hope of making a profit, right?"

Old Wang smiled, a rare occurrence: "We can see a little light now."

However, Mr. Han, having the money is only the first step. The real test is how to operate the route effectively.

"I know. But I'm confident."

A week later, the investment delegation from Dalian flew to Xinjiang.

Mr. Zhang, a member of the inspection team, is in the seafood trade. Pointing to the refrigerated transport trucks, he asked, "Can you establish this supply chain, from transporting beef and mutton from Xinjiang to Dalian, and then transshipping it to Japan and South Korea?"

"That's exactly what we want to do."

Pointing to the planning map, Han Jidong said, "Once the air route is opened, beef and mutton from Xinjiang can be transported to Dalian on the same day."

We've already secured cold chain warehousing in Dalian, and we're also in the process of connecting with sales channels in Japan and South Korea.

Another businessman, Mr. Li, who trades in fruit, asked, "For fragile goods like grapes and cantaloupes, what is the acceptable rate of damage during transportation?"

Old Wang chimed in: "We've calculated that if we use professional air-packing and fast customs clearance, the loss rate can be controlled to within 5%, which is much lower than land transportation."

Moreover, air transport takes less time, ensuring the freshness of the fruit.

The inspection lasted a day, and the executives discussed things privately for a long time.

During dinner that evening, General Manager Zhang raised his glass and said, "General Manager Han, Director Zhai, we've discussed it and decided to vote!"

We will not only invest money, but also connect our sales channels and transportation network with you.

We're definitely sticking with this Liaoning-Xinjiang joint platform!

Han Jidong and Zhai Hongjun exchanged a smile, raised their glasses, and drank them down in one gulp.

As the plane began its descent, Han Jidong took out his phone and sent a message to his team: "Meet at nine o'clock tomorrow morning to deploy the final preparations before the route opens."

This route must be put into operation.

Moreover, you have to fly steadily and well, making a good impression on everyone.

New problems arose in the first month after the route was launched.

Han Jidong stared at the glaring red data on the computer screen. The transportation volume of specialty products from the four pastoral areas of Xinjiang had decreased this month instead of increasing, with one of them even reaching zero.

He called his assistant, Xiao Chen, in. "What's going on?"

Didn't the herders say they were all looking forward to the opening of the air route?

Why is no one shipping orders now?

Xiao Chen said with a bitter face, "President Han, I just contacted them."

The herders said...that transportation costs were too high.

"Transportation costs? Wasn't a subsidy policy agreed upon?"

"The subsidies are for the air transport segment, but the herders have to bear the cost of the land transport from the pastoral area to the airport themselves."

Xiao Chen handed over a report, "Look, this is feedback from several pastoral areas."

In the farthest pastoral area of ​​Altay, the land transportation cost for goods from the pasture to Urumqi Airport is just over two yuan per kilogram.

Add to that the costs of packing and unloading, and many herders feel it's not worthwhile.

Han Jidong took the report, and the more he read it, the heavier his heart became.

Just as I was having a headache, Old Wang called.

"Mr. Han, I've heard some rumors."

Several cooperative leaders from pastoral areas came to me and complained that your air routes have enriched the airport but impoverished the herders.

Some people have started to resist cooperation.

"I'm really worried about this."

Han Jidong explained the situation, "What are your thoughts?"

Did you encounter similar problems when you were working on regional cooperation in the border areas?

"I've not only encountered it, I've almost messed it up."

Old Wang sighed, "Back then, I thought that as long as the main channel was opened up, everything would be fine. But later I found out that if the smaller channels weren't clear, the main channel would be useless."

"So how did you solve it?"

"Establish a collaborative alliance."

Old Wang put it bluntly: "Bring in all relevant parties along the route, share the benefits, and share the responsibilities. If you only let the herders bear the transportation costs, of course they won't do it."

But what if we include land transportation in the overall system, and everyone shares the costs?

Han Jidong said, "You mean...establishing a route operation alliance?"

"Yes! Pastoral cooperatives, transportation companies, airports, airlines, and even local governments have all become members of the alliance."

Transportation costs are shared among everyone, and profits are distributed according to contribution.

This lightens the burden on herders, thus increasing their enthusiasm.

After hanging up the phone, Han Jidong immediately asked Xiao Chen to notify the heads of all departments to hold a meeting.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was heavy.

Old Wang was the first to object: "Forming an alliance? That would increase management costs so much!"

Moreover, the cost-sharing of transportation expenses means we will have to pay more money.

"Mr. Han, the flight routes are just starting to look promising, don't throw more money into them."

The head of the transportation department said, "Mr. Han, the road from the pastoral area to the airport is indeed difficult to travel."

In some places, there aren't even decent roads. When our trucks go in, the fuel costs and damage are considerable.

If the costs are shared, our company will also suffer a loss.

After everyone had finished speaking, Han Jidong slowly began to say, "Everyone, I know you have concerns."

But have you considered that if the pastoral areas don't ship goods, our freight volume won't increase, and the shipping routes won't be able to continue?

The losses will be even greater then.

He pulled up a data chart: "Currently, the cargo volume on the air route has only reached 40% of the expected level, mainly because the cargo supply from pastoral areas is not coming in."

If we can connect this section, freight volume can at least double.

The costs that were allocated can be fully recouped from the increased revenue.

Old Wang was still uneasy. "That's what I said, but will the herders buy it?"

If they feel the cost-sharing is unfair, they will still refuse to cooperate.

"Therefore, we need to formulate clear subsidy policies."

Han Jidong was prepared: "For pastoral areas with transportation distances exceeding 100 kilometers, we will increase the subsidy ratio."

For particularly remote areas, we can even open short-distance shuttle bus routes.

"A dedicated shuttle line? That would be even more expensive!"

"But it's also more efficient."

Han Jidong said: "A dedicated vehicle runs a specific route, with fixed times and locations, allowing herders to plan their delivery time in advance."

Furthermore, dedicated vehicles can be designed to transport agricultural products, reducing losses.

These cost savings can offset some of the dedicated line expenses.

The meeting lasted for a full three hours.