The year 2022 marks the 40th anniversary of CIMC. On September 22, 1982, CIMC officially commenced production in Shekou, Shenzhen, the forefront of China’s reform and opening up.

Over the past 40 years, CIMC has been forging ahead with enterprise and fortitude. From a small factory on the verge of bankruptcy, it has developed into a global diversified multinational conglomerate with a leading position and wide influence in many industries around the world!

Over the past 40 years, CIMC has been maintaining sound and steady development. Since the company realized turnaround in 1987, CIMC has been profitable for 35 consecutive years, providing good returns for shareholders and the capital market.

We should put conscious effort into learning from history to create a bright future. Standing at the new historical starting point of our development, we make continuous efforts to achieve high-quality development while keeping our original aspiration in mind in the new era.

I. CIMC’s pursuit of sustainable development in the past 40 years

It is the reform and opening-up that has given life to CIMC. Over the past 40 years, CIMC seized opportunities of the reform and opening-up to promote its development at each stage. As a mixed conglomerate that grew during the reform and opening-up, CIMC remains always ahead of the times, and takes the initiative to take up responsibilities for the country and help address the concerns of the country through close integration of our development with national development, national rejuvenation and people’s happiness.

In the past 40 years since its founding, CIMC has been participating in and witnessing the reform and opening up.

On January 14, 1980, in order to introduce sophisticated container manufacturing technology and proven management experience from Europe, under the leadership of Mr. Yuan Geng, the executive vice chairman of China Merchants Group, CIMC was established in Shekou Industrial Zone by China Merchants and East Asiatic Company, with Mr. Yuan Geng serving as its chairman. As one of the first Sino-foreign joint ventures established by China after its launch of the reform and opening-up, CIMC became a project playing the pioneering role in China’s efforts to reshape its economic system, open the door to the world and introduce foreign investments, and it has participated in and witnessed the historical process of the reform and opening up. 

At the turn of the century, the Central Committee of Communist Party of China made a major decision to “go global”. CIMC seized the opportunity of the policy and met the challenge. By doing so, it became one of the first explorers and pioneers for Chinese enterprises to “go global” and participated in China’s integration into economic globalization. As its global presence has been gradually established and expanded for more than 20 years in the past, CIMC developed a global operation system that allows CIMC to leverage its advantages, enabling the Group’s domestic and overseas enterprises to share resources, draw from each other’s strengths, and achieve win-win outcome through cooperation.

CIMC has been serving the nation by developing industry and flourishing the country with solid work in the past 40 years

Industry is the foundation to build, thrive, strengthen and prosper a country. 40 years ago, CIMC came into being as one of the first container factories in China, in order to realize the ideal of “serving the nation by developing industry”. Through the founding of CIMC, future of individuals and CIMC was closely linked with the future of China as CIMC shouldered the major historical task of ending the backwardness of Chinese industry. China has completed a process of industrialization that took developed countries several centuries in the space of mere decades, in which CIMC played an active role and made due contributions as an industry leader.

CIMC ended backwardness in several industries and improved its international standing. Over the past 40 years, CIMC has successively entered several modern industrial manufacturing sectors in line with its strategic orientation of “CIMC engaging in those weak sectors in which CIMC has advantages as needed by the country”. As a leader in the industry, CIMC has actively implemented technological innovation and product upgrading, and taken the lead in exploring high-end manufacturing and the integration of informatization and industrialization in a bid to promote the sustainable and sound development of the industry. CIMC has driven other industry players to actively participate in the formulation of international standards to develop our voice in the international market. CIMC joined hands with other industry players to defend ourselves in the “AD and CVD” investigation and won a historic victory, which has expanded our international influence and enhanced the international status.

CIMC has catalyzed localization and premiumization of several industry chains. In May 1996, when CIMC just became the global largest manufacturer of containers, I proposed that “we should tenaciously work together to realize sound development of China’s national industry and to take container manufacturing to be truly in the hands of Chinese people”. To this end, CIMC gave full play to its scale advantage and persistently promoted the upgrading of the container industry chain, enabling China to fully localize manufacturing of containers in the early 21st century in contrast to the 100% reliance on imports in the past, thus ensuring the security of the national supply chain. Subsequently, CIMC has continued to lead the localization of the industry chains in many other industries, such as vehicles, energy, energy, chemical and food, airports, and marine engineering. CIMC is committed to promoting the product upgrade and technology development for the industry chain so as to develop high-end and intelligent industry chain. Further, CIMC and other players on the industry chain have been supporting each other in exploring the international market. As one of the largest users of raw materials such as steel and paint in China, CIMC has kept advancing the upgrading and localization of products in many fields such as steel and chemical industry.

Over the past 40 years, CIMC struggled to win global recognition as a “world champion”

The ambition and determination of CIMC people to keep chasing the world champion is behind the “serving the nation by developing the industry”. CIMC people know that only by building strength can we gain the respect of the world, and “champion products” are the outstanding sign of such strength. It is the unswerving pursuit of CIMC people for decades to cause other countries and regions to trust and recognize CIMC products so as to change their impression of Chinese products and respect Chinese enterprises and the whole country. For this reason, CIMC has made a vow: “As long as we enter an industry, we pledge to become a respected global leading enterprise in this industry.” 

In 1996, after CIMC became the largest container manufacturer in the world, it created a number of “champion products” one after another, winning the recognition and respect of the global mainstream markets for Made in China. As long as CIMC becomes the world champion in an industry, it has never lost the championship. CIMC proves to the world that Chinese players can also manufacture world-class products.

CIMC has been dedicated to social responsibility in the past 40 years

CIMC’s approach to social responsibility focuses on its core functions and missions as an enterprise. To this end, it buttresses the triple bottom lines of economy, society and environment, and is committed to operating in a scientific, transparent, ethical and compliant manner to provide quality and safe products and services for the society in its efforts to contribute to the sustainable development of the society.

In order to cope with global climate change, CIMC has actively formulated and implemented its Green Development Plan to achieve a continuous reduction in total greenhouse gas emissions. We are the first to roll out the application of waterbased paint in the industry, and contribute to the minimization of resource consumption, reduction of pollutant emissions, promotion of green transformation and development, and response to climate change with advanced technologies and products such as bamboo floor, clean energy equipment, and modular buildings.

Upon occurrence of the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008, CIMC quickly established modular elementary schools and hospitals in the disaster area with its proven modular construction technology. CIMC also actively contributes to construction of apartments for medical and nursing staff and emergency isolation sites. CIMC employees provided full coldchain express transportation services for hospitals in Henan Province through the flood area. CIMC has been participating in poverty alleviation and village revitalization with its bamboo floor, clean energy, mobile cold storage, marine fisheries, and rural micro-pipeline equipment. In 2022, CIMC actively responded to the call of the Central Committee of CPC for “common prosperity” and established the “CIMC Charity Foundation” to help poor public students complete their education, contributing to the development of China’s education.

II. The soul of achievements CIMC made in the past 40 years

We gained the following insights on our sustainable development over the past 40 years:

Love the Party, the country, and the people

Without the Party’s wise decision, there would be no reform and opening up, and there would be no CIMC. In this regard, CIMC people are grateful for the Party. Under the strong leadership of the Party, we, backed by a strong motherland, have been pursuing development in Shenzhen, the promising special economic zone of China. Especially the ten years since the18th CPC National Congress have been truly extraordinary for CIMC as it has made new breakthroughs in its operation and development by focusing on the new requirements of the new era, extensively implementing the new development concept, and actively integrating itself into the new development pattern. 

On June 13, 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected CIMC Raffles in the rain and learned in detail about CIMC Offshore’s development path of independent innovation and the development of independent design, research and manufacture of high-end offshore engineering equipment, and placed deep expectations on CIMC Offshore: “Basic and core technologies cannot be obtained, bought or negotiated. Only by our self-reliance and independent innovation can realize those technologies. I see that you are confident in this, and I hope you will rise to the challenge and make further efforts.” The General Secretary’s earnest teaching and ardent expectation greatly inspired the motivation and drive of CIMC people. In the following years, CIMC has seriously studied and implemented the spirit of the General Secretary’s important speech in all aspects of our strategy and operation management.

Adhering to modern corporate governance model

CIMC has built a modern corporate governance structure since its founding, i.e., it has been implementing the general manager responsibility system under the leadership of the Board of Directors, which laid the foundation for our modern corporate system. Our listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1994 consolidated and optimized the foundation of the modern corporate governance system with Chinese characteristics. In 2020, Shenzhen Capital Holding took a stake in CIMC and supported CIMC to continue to maintain a market-oriented institutional mechanism, which is crucial for the future development of CIMC.

For CIMC, which is fully market-oriented and fully participates in global competition, the institutional arrangement of corporate governance structure with unique Chinese characteristics has been the most important institutional foundation for CIMC’s steady progress over the past 40 years. It has also been highly evaluated by various stakeholders.

Upholding the corporate spirit of “self-improvement and pursuit of excellence”

Over the past 40 years since reform and opening up, the world and Chinese economies have experienced several cycles of industrial fluctuations, and the internal and external environment faced by Chinese companies has continued to change drastically.

Over the past 40 years, in the face of storms and treacherous shoals, CIMC has been able to grow and maintain its vitality because of its corporate spirit of “self-improvement and pursuit of excellence”.

After its survival in 1986, CIMC people have deeply realized that we have to struggle hard and maintain tenacious. For this reason, we have been pursuing development on a self-reliance basis. We always stay hungry for business and never give up business development. We dare to be pioneer in reform and innovation. We are brave to face difficulties and setbacks,and firmly believe that “a nice weather is an opportunity, and a storm is also an opportunity”. With the courage and vigor to surmount all obstacles, we keep pushing forward the cause of CIMC.

Upholding the concept of “people-oriented, common cause”

To take “people-oriented” approach is to pursue the unity of knowledge and action, and action louder than words. The “common cause” of CIMC is a long-term common cause, which represents the soul of CIMC.

For decades, CIMC has been genuinely caring about and improving quality of its employees. We have invested a lot of time in our cadres, with all-round coaching and empowerment, which can even last for a long time throughout a cadre’s career, allowing them to undergo fundamental improvement and metamorphosis.

For decades, CIMC has been sincerely motivating and developing its employees. Every excellent CIMC employee is a business partner of CIMC, and he or she does not maintain a simple employment relationship with the company. We provide a stage for every CIMC employee to showcase his or her brilliance. Following the principle of “sharing results and risks”, and through the guarantee of system and process, we reward our employees for their efforts and help them finally realize their ideal and value in life.

Our talent development practice proves the great power of the concept of “People-oriented and common cause”, which fully stimulates the potential of our employees. Over the past decades, CIMC has united its employees and has them, heart and soul, in common struggle for development of the company. More and more CIMC people identify with and practice the concept of “People-oriented and common cause”, and the concept has become the common action guide for everyone.

These valuable historical experiences and important inspirations are the cultural foundation of CIMC’s development in the past, and they are the powerful spiritual force that drives CIMC forward. In today’s world, the economic situation is complicated, and the more difficult the road ahead is, the more we have to adhere to the leadership of the Party, the more we have to adhere to modern corporate governance, and the more we have to carry forward the spirit of “self-improvement” and the concept of “common cause”.

III. CIMC’s way to the future: to develop CIMC into a world-class high quality and respected enterprise

We are proud for our history and shoulder the responsibility for future sustainable development of CIMC. In February 2022, the Central Committee of CPC considered and adopted the “Guidance on Accelerating the Construction of World-Class Enterprises”, proposing to accelerate the construction of a number of world-class enterprises with excellent products, outstanding brands, leading innovation and modern governance. Over the past 40 years, CIMC has made certain achievements in its operation and development. However, we also soberly realize that there is still a certain gap between CIMC and the world-class enterprises, and we still need to continue our efforts to move CIMC from a good enterprise to an excellent enterprise.

Focusing on the goals put forward by the Central Committee of CPC and considering the actual development of CIMC, at the historic point of the 40th anniversary of CIMC, CIMC clearly puts forward its development vision for the next ten years: to strive to develop CIMC into a world-class high-quality and respected enterprise.

In the new journey to build China into a modern socialist country in all respects and advance toward the Second Centenary Goal, in order to realize the above-mentioned grand blueprint, CIMC should follow the guidance of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the Long-Range Objectives for 2035, with the country’s most fundamental interests in mind. Based on the new development stage, CIMC will implement the new development concept to serve for building a new development pattern. In this regard, CIMC will make precise efforts in the following aspects:

First, to further promote sound operation and quality growth

We are witnessing major changes unfolding in our world, something unseen in a century. We can only travel safe and sound when we walk steadily. The top priority for CIMC’s future development is how to maintain steady growth and achieve long-term development.

To this end, CIMC should steadily allocate various elements such as technology, talents and capital to the advantageous business, and should further improve the quality of operation and firmly divest inefficient business and inefficient assets. We should make more efforts to cultivate and develop new businesses to materialize a multi-segment and multi-level new business development pattern. We should grasp the industrial opportunities of carbon emission peaking and carbon neutrality to practice the concept of green development. To build a good ecological environment in the group, we continuously improve the one-stop solution capability of “equipment + service” to achieve a synergistic development among business sectors, member enterprises and innovative enterprises. We should further optimize the Group’s control ability, further consolidate and enhance the ability platform for hierarchical management, stimulate the vitality of the operating entity, continue to promote the operational excellence system, and continuously enrich and improve the connotation of 5S

control, while preventing major risks to ensure the sustainable and sound development of our enterprises.

Second, to further improve the innovation capability to create champion product

We should place technology innovation at the core of the overall development of CIMC and further enhance its independent innovation capability to build up our core competitiveness in various business fields by strengthening technology innovation and product upgrading. We should leverage advanced technology tools to continuously promote the upgrading of CIMC manufacturing based on the achievements of CIMC Lean Operation and in line with the trend of upgrading and change in manufacturing. We should further improve our R&D planning; cultivate a team of high-level leading technology professionals.

Through comprehensive innovation in such aspects as technology and business models, we will further create globally competitive products and services to cultivate well-known global brands. We should strive to develop more world champions on the basis of maintaining and consolidating the current champion product clusters.

Third, to enhance the ability to develop globally and increase the development of the domestic market

Under the new dual circulation development pattern in which domestic economic cycle plays a leading role while international economic cycle remains its extension and supplement, an enterprise with global competitive advantages and relatively extensive strength like CIMC still needs to continue global presence and development to enhance globalization capability in the increasingly complex international environment, while constantly seeking new development opportunities.

Meanwhile, we should further scale up efforts to develop domestic market. We should explore more business opportunities in target several key domestic industries closely related the consumer sector, such as cold chain, natural gas, hydrogen energy, automated logistics, recycled load, fire and rescue equipment. We should effectively integrate globalization and localization to achieve efficient and intensive resource allocation.

Fourth, to further practice high standards of social responsibility

We will actively respond to the national call, and fulfill social responsibility well by integrating the concept of social responsibility into the corporate strategy, corporate governance, as well as production and operation of products throughout the life cycle, achieving full integration of social responsibility and business operation. We will create a model of green and low-carbon development, and make efforts in the fields of clean energy, green water and green mountains, as well as rural revitalization. We will actively participate in social welfare and charity.

Fifth, to continuously optimize corporate governance

We will continue adopting the modern corporate governance system mechanism characterized by clear definition of authority and responsibility, transparent control, well-regulated authorization and effective checks and balances. We will promote various forms of medium and long-term incentives so that incentives and constraints are put in place. We should further support to guide the independent development and public listing of the segments and member enterprises, improve the corporate governance structure, and strengthen internal supervision to standardize the governance.

Sixth, to further strengthen the fostering of talents

We should cultivate more CIMC entrepreneurs with global strategic vision, market development expertise, management innovation ability and sense of social responsibility. We will intensify the fostering of talents at various levels. The scientific and effective mechanism of selecting, fostering and appointing talents should be improved so that the outstanding are rewarded and the incompetent are dismissed. At the same time, we should cultivate various high-caliber experts so that enough talents are available for our cause.

Upholding the entrepreneurial spirit of self-improvement and pursuit of excellence, we should actively explore and practice the path of creating a world-class enterprise with Chinese characteristics to create more brilliant achievements, thus making new and greater contributions to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation!

Chairman and CEO

Mai Boliang

March 2023