Yuan Geng

Yuan Geng (; 23 April 1917 – 31 January 2016), born Ouyang Rushan, was a Chinese guerrilla fighter, war hero, spy, policy visionary, and serial entrepreneur on behalf of the Chinese state. He was an early proponent of China's reform and opening up, and went on to create Shekou Industrial Zone, China International Marine Containers, CSG Holding, China Merchants Bank, and Ping An Insurance.

Early life and career

Born in Bao'an County, now part of Shenzhen, he joined the Chinese Communist Party at age 21 and fought guerrilla operations against the Japanese occupation army in the Dongjiang (East River) Column of the CPC-led Guangdong People's Anti-Japanese Aggression Guerrilla Force from March 1939. In 1942 he led a noted rescue operation of 800 people,

In September 1945, he created a liaison office for the Communist guerrillas in Hong Kong, which later became the Xinhua News Agency office and as such, the de facto embassy of the People's Republic of China in the territory after 1949. Based on his in-depth knowledge of Hong Kong, Yuan Geng became convinced of the immense potential for market-led economic development on the mainland. His report on how to make better use of China Merchants was forwarded by the Transports Ministry to the State Council on 9 October 1978, recommending opening up the mainland economy to the international market using China Merchants as an instrument. This proposal was approved after three days.

The policy context became even more favorable following the Third Plenum meeting of December 1978, which cemented the political leadership of Deng Xiaoping and the policy direction of reform and opening up. Losing no time, in early January 1979 Yuan Geng prepared a pilot project in the form of an industrial zone supported by China Merchants, initially focused on ship breaking, with exemptions from the mainland's constraints on economic activity. Yuan Geng chose to start with a geographically limited area as the Shekou Industrial Park (SIP), which later became the Shekou Industrial Zone. The project was supported by Transport Minister Ye Fei and Guangdong Revolutionary Commission chairman Zheng Sheng. It was swiftly approved in a meeting on 31 January 1979 in Zhongnanhai attended by Party Vice Chairman Li Xiannian, Vice Premier Gu Mu, Vice Minister of Communications Peng Deqing, and Yuan Geng. Li Xiannian circled the Nantou Peninsula, on which Shekou is located, on Yuan Geng's map of the Hong Kong area, to mark approval of the project and extension of its perimeter. Following this episode, the project was nicknamed "circled SIP." In 1985 he organized local elections in the Shekou Industrial Park, in which 2,000 residents and workers participated.

In 1981 Yuan Geng coined the slogan "time is gold and efficiency is life." It was endorsed by Deng Xiaoping during his visit of Shenzhen in January 1984 and subsequently approved as Shekou's slogan on February 24, 1984. Yuan's slogan was inscribed on a giant billboard in Shekou and became a motto of the reform era.

Later ventures

Yuan Geng went on to create a number of state-owned enterprises which participated greatly in the prosperity of the Pearl River Delta, most of them directly to support economic activity in Shekou. In January 1980, he established China International Marine Containers.

In 1984 he created China Southern Glass Holding Limited, now China's largest architectural glass manufacturer.

Death and legacy

Yuan Geng retired in 1992. He was never very senior in the party hierarchy, did not amass personal wealth, and was highly respected for his integrity, loyalty and humility. He died on 31 January 2016, in Shenzhen. As of 2018 the statue stands in front of Sea World Culture and Arts Center, in which the third floor hosts a display celebrating the history of Shekou and Yuan Geng's legacy. Another sculpture, a larger-than-lifesize bust of Yuan Geng by sculptor Yìshùjiā Wèizhī, was erected in 2017 in Shenzhen Talent Park, near Shenzhen Bay Park and close to the Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters Base business district.