On October 20th, the 25th China (Yangjiang) International Hardware Knives and Scissors Fair opened under the theme "Leap Forward." Marking its 25th anniversary, the fair has established a platform for high-level industrial exchanges and opening-up. Zheng Yongnian, professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, was invited to visit the fair and deliver a keynote lecture, offering advice on upgrading Yangjiang's knives and scissors industry and leveraging opportunities from APEC and the Greater Bay Areato expand overseas.

Zheng stressed that Yangjiang should not remain confined to downstream manufacturing. Instead, it should make full use of the fair, a national-level exhibition platform, to connect with the Greater Bay Area's scientific and technological innovation resources, cross-border financial resources and international procurement networks. This would help transform the comparative advantage of "a single knife" into the innovation advantage of an entire industrial chain. Zheng has previously highlighted Yangjiang's knives and scissors industry as a typical example of the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing in Guangdong's counties. He noted that Yangjiang has a history of knives and scissors production spanning more than 1,000 years. To produce higher-quality products, local enterprises have proactively established industry-academia-research partnershipswith alloy materialsresearch institutes, helping Yangjiang become an important base for the production and application of alloy materials in Guangdong. Although the industry remains relatively modest in scale, it offers a vivid example of the shift from comparative advantage to innovation advantage, widely known as the "Yangjiang model."

Over the past 25 years, exports from Yangjiang's hardware knives and scissors industry have grown from 1.7 billion yuan to more than 8 billion yuan, while its trading partners have expanded from 27 countries and regions to more than 160. The city now has more than 8,500 market entities in the industry and has developed a one-hoursupply chain network. The entire process, from raw materials to finished products, can be completed in as little as 15 days.

郑永年现身刀博会点赞“中国刀剪之都”

10月20日，以“跨越”为主题的第25届中国（阳江）国际五金刀剪博览会正式开幕。本届刀博会迎来25周年节点，搭建起高端产业交流与对外开放平台。香港中文大学（深圳）教授郑永年受邀观展，并发表专题讲座，为阳江刀剪产业转型升级、借力APEC与湾区机遇出海发展把脉支招。

郑永年特别谈到，阳江不能只做“末端制造”，而要用好刀博会这一国家级展会平台，主动对接大湾区科创资源、跨境金融资源和国际采购网络，把“一把刀”的比较优势，升级为“一条链”的创新优势。郑永年此前就曾公开将“阳江刀剪”作为广东县域制造业转型升级的典型案例加以推介。他指出，阳江刀剪生产历史逾千年，为做出更优质的刀剪，本地刀剪企业主动与合金材料研究所开展产学研合作，使阳江成为广东重要的合金材料生产与应用基地；虽然产业规模还不很大，但提供了一个从“比较优势”向“创新优势”转变的生动案例，被外界称为“阳江模式”。

据介绍，25年来阳江五金刀剪产业出口规模已从最初的17亿元增长至超80亿元，贸易伙伴由27个国家和地区拓展到160多个，全市五金刀剪市场经营主体超8500家，形成“一小时供应链圈”，最快15天即可完成从原料到成品的全流程交付。

文、图｜记者 戴灵敏
译 | 郑书悦
审 | 曾敏