Township enterprises are farmer-initiated enterprises in rural
areas. Huge gains in agricultural efficiency have released huge
numbers of rural laborers from the land, thus laying the basis for
the development of township enterprises whose competitively priced
goods and services sell well across China.??
Township enterprises are involved in many sectors, e.g.,
industry, agricultural processing, transportation and
communications, construction, commerce and catering. By 2005, 22.5
million township enterprises, with 142.72 million employees were
generating 5,053.4 billion yuan in added value, an 8.4 percent
increase over 2004. Township enterprises have been the main driving
force for the increase in farmers' income and rural economic
development, absorbing about 30 percent of the rural labor
force.?
Township enterprises have evolved over a long time to become the
leading power in the county-level economy and one of the most
vibrant growth points in the national economy.? In 2005, two
thirds of enterprises with an annual turnover of over 10 million
yuan had their own research organs, and a raft of well-known
enterprises took shape, enterprises with innovation capability and
intellectual property rights.
