On July 9, 2019, Lu Zhijian, vice mayor of Wuxi Municipal People’s government, led a team to inspect Phoenix Artist Material to learn about the development status of Phoenix Artist Material and other key export enterprises in the context of Sino US trade disputes. Zhang Qianshan, deputy secretary general, Wang Xing, Zong Jifang, relevant leaders of Wuxi customs, relevant personnel of the municipal government office and the foreign trade department of the Municipal Bureau of Commerce accompanied the inspection. Chen Weihong, chairman of Phoenix Artist Material, received Mayor Lu and his team, and made a detailed report on many issues concerned by Mayor Lu.

Chen Weihong, chairman of the board of directors, reported that the United States imposed tariffs on China, including painting materials, which inevitably affected China. Therefore, Phoenix Artist Material will inevitably be affected. But as early as 2005, Phoenix Artist Material encountered the trade barrier of anti-dumping from the United States and accumulated experience in dealing with it. Therefore, in this Sino US trade dispute, Phoenix Artist Material also took the initiative to deal with it in advance. Since April 2018, the order structure has been adjusted, with US orders transferred to overseas factories such as Vietnam and Cambodia, and non-US orders transferred to domestic production in Shuyang and Wuxi. Although the adjustment of orders brings a series of problems to the enterprise management, such as the original production process, raw material procurement, quality management and so on of each painting material factory should be changed quickly, which is a major test for the enterprise management ability. Chen Weihong, chairman of the board of directors, puts forward with deep feeling that enterprises must go global and carry out global layout in order to achieve long-term development.
Mayor Lu asked with concern: trade friction has existed for a long time. Do enterprises have any practical difficulties and problems? Is the overseas plant successful? Is there any problem with the customs clearance?
Chen Weihong responded: the biggest problem facing overseas development is that the financial measures cannot keep up. He suggested that domestic banks should also go out to provide more services for overseas Chinese enterprises. Another problem is the repeated collection of income tax.
Mayor Lu thinks: the positive actions of Phoenix Artist Material in dealing with the trade war are typical. They foresaw and actively responded to the trade war and achieved results at the same time. Phoenix Artist Material is not only an export-oriented enterprise, but also a key cultural enterprise. Under the current situation of trade friction, the government should solve the specific problems encountered by enterprises in time, and further create a good environment conducive to industrial development.