Writing a New Answer Sheet of High-quality Development in the Process of Reform and Endeavor

      In June, the scorching sun is like fire, and like the enthusiasm of reform and the passion of striving.

      As a backbone enterprise in China's automotive industry, BAIC Group has celebrated its 63rd birthday and made a solid step towards "BAIC for a century" in the full swing of reform.

      We have walked half of the journey, and we should be determined to work hard.

The pace of the times has reached a new historical position, and a new questionnaire has been issued for BAIC.

     How to take the road of high-quality development in the new era?

     For BAIC, this is a difficult and firm answer, and a solemn and profound mark.

      BAIC has responded with strong actions: Only by carrying out the reform to the end, fearing no difficulties, and striving for survival through changes, can we truly establish the core competitiveness of main business, open a new situation in the changing situation, and cultivate opportunities in the crisis, and make a steady and far-reaching progress in the century-long journey.

      Focus on high-quality development to answer the question of moving forward

     As China's economy shifts from a high-speed growth stage to a high-quality development stage, it also brings BAIC to a new development stage.

      High-quality development has undoubtedly become the strategic direction of BAIC in the future. It urges BAIC to speed up the change of its past pursuit of scale, relying on resource-driven extension growth, and to achieve the conversion of old and new kinetic energy.

      However, for a "giant ship" like BAIC, the strategic highland is clear, but how to display the characteristics of BAIC is not clear.

      How does BAIC go on the road of high-quality development? It has become the primary issue that the BAIC Party Committee should consider.

In November, 2020, BAIC's strategy seminar was held in anticipation. For BAIC citizens, this would be an important meeting of extraordinary significance.

How to walk would be decided here.

      Unlike in the past, this strategy seminar was full of self-criticism and self-innovation. The Party Committee of BAIC gave the train of thought of answer with “three clears”.

      Getting a clear understanding of the situation is the first step to determine the direction. In the face of industry changes, BAIC has not only seen the opportunities brought by technological changes, consumption upgrades, and rising national self-confidence, but also knows that changes are like sailing against the current, and it will be eliminated after a little slack. Regarding the building of core competitiveness, challenges even outweigh opportunities.

      It is essential for a person to know himself/herself, then reflect himself/herself, and finally discipline himself/herself. At present, BAIC needs to get a clear understanding of itself. Key issues, such as " non-proficient focusing on the main business, "lack of market-oriented thinking", "scattered and inefficient research and development forces" and "the core competitiveness has not been formed", should be put on the table, and completely opened. Beside cold sweat, they are precise lock for the next breakthrough.

      After clearing the fog, we see the truth. Based on objective and calm analysis, BAIC's guideline of "getting a clear understanding of the path" is determined as follows: BAIC will persist in doing something but not doing something, unswervingly implement the new development concept, take the supply-side structural reform as the main line, and focus on the era mission of "strengthening self-reliance and building powerful BAIC ". Centering on the three main businesses of complete vehicle, parts and service, BAIC will reform and restructure, be drive by innovation, keep fit, effectively push forward the implementation of strategies and achieve the high-quality development of BAIC.

      "Facing the development of the “14th Five-Year Plan”, we should not only face the changes of the external environment, but also urgently need to pragmatically solve our own problems and risks. The only solution is reform, which is to promote high-quality development through reform. Only through change, can there be a way out, and only through change, can there be hope. We must go through all-round profound reforms to smooth out all stubborn diseases that hinder and are not suitable for high-quality development.

      This is BAIC's painful reform declaration!

      This is the strong voice of BAIC's indomitable reform!

      The road of reform has never been smoot. BAIC Party Committee "takes the direction, manages the overall situation and ensures the implementation". It will deepen the reform with strong leadership.

      At the beginning of the new year, under the strategic guidance, BAIC held another important meeting, i.e., the 2021 Working Meeting of BAIC Group.

      "Deepening market-oriented reform, practicing high-quality development, and striving to make a good start to BAIC's “14th Five-Year Plan" has become the main tone of the whole year's development, and the strategic blueprint has also been translated into specific "construction drawings".

      The start is related to the overall situation, and the start determines the momentum.

      BAIC will roll up its sleeves and go all out to do it!

      It will find the right position and show its actions in the overall situation.

      BAIC closely follows the development pace of the Party and the country, grasps opportunities and seeks development. It transforms various principles, policies and strategic arrangements into concrete measures for high-quality development of enterprises. It took on the Three-Year Action Plan for the Reform of State-owned Enterprises (2020-2022), and started to compile the Plan for the Implementation of Three-Year Action Plan for Comprehensive Reform of BAIC Group. The “general program” for future reform will be constructed from many aspects, such as improving the modern enterprise system with Chinese characteristics, improving the market-oriented operation mechanism, optimizing the business layout, improving the management efficiency, and improving the innovation ability.

      Under the leadership of the Group, main contradictions in development will be overcome.

      "As long as we catch the main contradiction, all problems will be solved." For the key and difficult problems that restrict the development of BAIC, the Party Committee of BAIC listed 18 "booklet projects". The members of the leadership team took the lead respectively, made great efforts to promote their implementation, and took the progress report of the "booklet projects" as fixed content of the standing committee of the Group. Each team member should not only talk about the achievements, but also talk about the problems, so as to ensure the orderly advancement.

      The question of the times must be echoed.

      On the new journey of high-quality development, BAIC Party Committee highly holds the banner and leads all the way. With a long tassel in its hand, BAIC Group dares to bind black dragon.

      Creating a New Highland of Science and Technology, and Being Determined to Strengthen the Self-owned Brands

Recently, ARCFOX has really become popular.

      At the Shanghai Auto Show, the high-profile appearance of αS and αS Huawei HI vehicles and cooperation of BAIC and Huawei behind it caused widespread concern. Only after 48 hours, ARCFOX released its overseas strategy, taking a key step in the development of globalization. Then, it was announced that ARCFOX αS Huawei HI vehicle became the first batch of models equipped with Huawei HarmonyOS system. On June 17, another heavyweight information was announced. Apollo Moon, a new generation of mass-produced shared unmanned vehicle jointly developed by ARCFOX and Baidu, was officially released.

      The "sense of science and technology", "intelligence" and "high-end and avant-garde", a wave of high-frequency combination made ARXFOX enter more people's field of vision. People not only see the strong chemical reaction of technology combination, but also feel the determination and ambition of self-owned intelligent electric vehicles to climb upwards.

      In the automotive world with are many masters, as a new brand, it is no accident that ARCFOX can release a series of big moves in a short time. In addition to its cooperation  with Huawei and Baidu, BAIC has also reached in-depth cooperation with cutting-edge enterprises in the automotive field such as Magna and Bosch. Only from its high-end resource matching and a lot of innovation investment, it serves to show BAIC's intentions.

      Lavish actions are originated from its clear development strategy. At present, BAIC has determined the strategic direction of focusing on its main business and self-owned brands. It has made up its mind to gather the strength of the whole Group to strengthen its self-owned brands, of which ARCFOX is an important representative.

      To strengthen its self-owned brands, BAIC has been working hard-

      In view of the fact that self-owned brands were independent and failed to form a joint force in the past, BAIC set up an independent special class to clarify the business orientation and development rhythm from the reality, to give full play to the main role of each vehicle sector, and to speed up the formation of a vertical integrated system structure and efficient and coordinated operation mechanism of the whole value chain, such as research and development, procurement, manufacturing and marketing services.

      BAIC is market-oriented. BAIC changed from decentralization to centralization, re-arranged the brand structure, focused on the three independent passenger vehicle brands of ARCFOX, BING and Beijing, as well as self-owned commercial vehicle brands of Foton and Changhe, forming a brand camp of passenger and commercial vehicles.

      BAIC reconstructs the research and development system, and makes every effort to build a new research highland of the automotive industry in the capital. It integrates the original research institutes, joint-stock research institutes, new energy engineering institutes and off-road vehicle research institutes, and implements the "Excellent Talent Plan" and "Lighthouse Action" to identify and motivate key talent. It builds a dual-battlefield research and development organization and management mode, and send research and development teams to the front line of the war zone to quickly respond to market demand for product development.

      Relying on the National Innovation Center to promote scientific research and innovation in the industry, BAIC will continue to deepen the research in the fields of power systems, power batteries, fuel cells, intelligent networking, vehicle gauge chips, and automotive electronic control. It will further build itself into a cutting-edge technology testing and verification platform, an open-source vehicle verification platform, an intellectual property sharing platform, and an ecological platform for incubating venture capital, so as to effectively serve and support the upstream and downstream innovation of the industrial chain.

……

      The future of automobiles lies in self-reliance. BAIC has always kept in mind the mission of "developing national brands". It makes great efforts around "becoming stronger and independent", and its pace of reform is firm and strong.

      Only the liberation of human beings can be exchanged for the release of vitality.

      Market competition is ultimately the competition of talents. To let the market make a choice, it is necessary to reflect the value of people. With the strategic adjustment of focusing on the main business, the personnel reform of BAIC also started rapidly.     For some time, the cadre adjustment of BAIC has been carried out frequently.

In a series of personnel transfer, it is not difficult to find some distinctive features: professional and technical cadres have a higher platform, the proportion of young cadres in the appointment of cadres has increased, and key professionals have been directly promoted to middle-level cadres. Among them, Dai Kangwei, deputy secretary of the Party Committee, director and general manager of BAIC New Energy, has grown from a technical leader to a national model worker, and rapidly changed into an enterprise leader.

From the first small beginnings,one can see how things will develop.Behind the adjustment of those cadres, there is a strong signal, I.e.,BAIC wants to break the "box" and get rid of "barriers" in talent selection and employment.It adheres to the market-oriented selection and employment,and liberates outstanding talents rom the dynamic constraints such as "big pot", "iron rice bowl", and "getting promoted according to status ", so that the capable get promoted, the average give way, and the mediocre get demobilized.

     Adapting to the Needs of High-Quality Development and Responding to the Expectation of Talent Development.

      To give full play to the role of the Party in managing cadres and talents, the Three-year Action Plan for Strengthening the Construction of Cadres Team in BAIC Group (2021-2023) seems ready to come out. The cadre management mechanism of cadres is being accelerated and improved.

      ——BAIC comprehensively deepens the reform of the cadre selection system, and comprehensively promotes the tenure system and contractual management of managers in enterprises at all levels under the Group. It smooths the identity conversion channel between existing managers and professional managers, and accelerates the implementation of the professional manager system in key enterprises.

      —— BAIC expands and improves the training mechanism of "four exchanges" between headquarters and affiliated enterprises, between self-owned brands and joint ventures, between different industrial sectors, and between the Party and the masses and management. It actively cultivates compound leading cadres with professional backgrounds, and promotes a group of management deputies with strong management ability to serve as full-time deputy party secretaries;

     —— It establishes a "dual-channel management and technology" mechanism, broadens the career development space of middle-level teams, and optimizes the career growth path of professional and technical talents. Under the situation of combining personal wishes, it encourages middle-level cadres close to retirement to transfer to professional and technical posts, give full play to their own advantages and do a good job in teaching, helping and leading. 

      —— It continues to implement the "789" young cadre selection and training program. It adheres to the combination of internal and external talents, and select and equip a group of middle-level principal positions around 35 years old and middle-level deputy positions around 30 years old as soon as possible. Under the same conditions, it gives priority to the selection of leading cadres aged 40 and below, and sends young cadres to market front-line, difficult enterprises, hard areas and hard-working positions in a planned way to "help them take exercise".

      —— It improves the incentive and restraint mechanism and exit mechanism that are guided by value creation and closely linked to performance appraisal, implements differentiated pay for core key talents, and guides the listed companies and technological and innovative enterprises affiliated to the Group to flexibly carry out medium-and long-term incentives in various ways.

      Personnel reform is a very touching reform. We should take responsibility for responsible persons and support the persons who do things. Although many explorations haven’t been completed, the employment orientation of "open competition mechanism to select the best candidates" and " value creation” has won the hearts of the people and made more people see the hope of growth.

      Consolidating The Management and Promoting High-Quality Development System

      The essence of reform is BAIC's self-transcendence. For a large group enterprise, it is not easy to change ideas and jump out of inertia?

      However, facing the high-quality development, the drawbacks of poor management have emerged: the positioning of two-level management and control is not clear, and the control power is insufficient; the supervision and appraisal of the implementation effect is not in place; incentive mechanism can't play its due role and so on. All these have become "stumbling blocks" on BAIC’s way forward.

      "Good management is not necessarily beneficial, but poor management is certainly not beneficial."

      "Our reform is to solve problems and find a way out by improving the ability and level of management and control."

      The management problem has become the pain point of people in BAIC.

      Management reform has become a strong consensus of people in BAIC

      An organizational change with the goal of building system power has been carried out  the top of BAIC.

     ——The Party's leadership has become stronger and stronger. BAIC further clarified that the research and discussion of the Party organization was the pre-procedure for the decision-making of major issues by the board of directors and managers. The Interim Provisions on the Management of Major Issues in the Pre-research of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee, especially for important decisions, strengthening the research before decision-making, communication during decision-making and supervision after decision-making, and established and improved the working mechanism of feasibility demonstration, legality review and risk assessment.

      —— The control power of the headquarters is becoming more and more efficient. We will "sort out" the headquarters departments and offices, position the strategic planning center, the investment decision center, the resource allocation center and the supervision service center. The department will be condensed  28 to 19. Posts and personnel will re-allocated to lay the foundation for high-quality development with a more professional, refined and flat structure and operation mode.

      —— The motivation and guidance become more distinct. It further improves the appraisal and incentive mechanism of equal responsibilities and rights. It develops differentiated annual responsibility letters for objectives and tasks according to accurate portraits of the pain points and difficult problems of enterprises at the present stage, and pays more attention to the appraisal of data structure and science on the basis of quantitative indicators. It adds high-quality development evaluation and analysis indicators, and fulfill the value of appraisal.

      ——Risk prevention and control are getting more and more solid. It strengthens the dual control of "debt scale and asset-liability ratio", focuses on the main business, strengthens precise investment, and improves the vertical management of major issues of secondary enterprises. It speeds up the disposal of idle assets, actively solves problems left over history, keeps an eye on the orderly exit of key non-main business enterprises, and takes precautions to resolve risks.

      ——The integration of Party building has become more and more obvious. BAIC has implemented the "Ten Projects" of the Party Committee of the Group, promoted the Three-year Action Plan of Grassroots Party Building, carried out pioneering actions of the Party branch of "Star Rating" and "Four-level Linkage and Double Services", and carried out key research activities of Party members' projects. It set up a regional Party building community. The improvement of the scientific level of Party building has promoted its role and made the Party banner fly high in the front line of high-quality development. 

      For large enterprises, there is often the inherent impression that "the ship is too big to turn around”. However, BAIC is changing its internal mechanism through powerful measures, turning the "giant ship" into a powerful "warship" to ride the wind and waves.

      " Although the road is endless and faraway, I still want to pursue the truth in the world. ".

      In the new journey, BAIC has already gone through numerous hills and streams, but it still needs to cross mountains and rivers. On the new road of "taking an examination", BAIC will forge its original intentions, fear no challenge, and take a firm, enterprising and fighting attitude to write a vivid chapter of high-quality development in the land of Beijing and persistently pursue its century-old dream.

（Beijing Daily）