胡钢董事长30周年晚会庆典致辞

2024年11月1日，新大陆科技集团30周年晚会庆典在福州隆重举行。集团董事长胡钢围绕“感恩之心”“奇迹之旅”“与国同频”“精神力量”和“新起点”五个主题，面向全球8000名新大陆人发表致辞。现将胡钢董事长中英双语演讲稿全文刊发。

全球各地的新大陆同仁们，大家晚上好。

对于新大陆人来说，今天是个大日子。我们在这里欢聚一堂，共同庆祝新大陆科技集团30岁生日。

30年前，我和一批充满激情的创业者们，在福州市鼓屏路银联宾馆四楼租了两个房间，房号是410和411。我至今清晰记得，1994年1月9日，我们召开创业团队第一次全体会议，那时公司还没有成立，尚处在筹备和规划阶段，我们在对未来的无限憧憬中，讨论了公司框架和经营设想、管理原则等等，并且将公司正式命名为“新大陆”。

30年光阴荏苒、岁月如流，今天，当我站在新大陆30周年盛大庆典的舞台上，回想起这一路走来的点点滴滴，令我百感交集，万千感慨涌上心头。

今天的新大陆，是值得我们骄傲的——

在支付领域，新大陆是全球第一的数字智能支付终端和支付方案供应商，终端累计交付数量超过1亿台。

在识别领域，新大陆是识读设备全球第四、扫码引擎全球第三的供应商。

在数字商业领域，新大陆是中国头部的第三方支付运营商，服务370万家商户，年营业流水2.5万亿元。同时，我们还为中小微实体商户累计提供了280亿元小额贷款，解决他们的资金周转难题。

在软件和大数据领域，新大陆连续19次入选中国软件百强企业，具备电信级大数据业务支撑核心平台的能力。

在职业教育领域，新大陆是福建省唯一的国家级产教融合型企业，与全国1600多所院校开展合作。

在通信终端领域，新大陆为全球运营商提供智能终端，海内外智能制造中心年总产能合计可达5000万台。

在智慧交通各领域，新大陆参与全国16个省市约4500公里的近百条高速公路机电工程项目建设。

我们也在数字中国的战略赛道上不断创新探索。新大陆首次提出数字公民理念，推动全国首个数字公民试点落地，可信数字身份相关技术和应用正在多个行业逐步推广。

我们基于在支付技术领域的长期积累，探索数字人民币技术和应用创新，支撑北京冬奥会数字人民币场景建设，发起成立数字人民币联盟并成为首任理事长单位。

我们还在大湾区试水跨境电商的业务，比如票务市场，比如跨境药品、保健品销售等等。

从18人到超过8000名全球员工，从21平方米的宾馆套房到9万平方米花园式科技园区以及世界多地的分子公司、办事机构，从150万元的营业规模到百亿级的营收。新大陆30年跨越式发展，堪称中国民营企业发展史上的一个奇迹。

我们值得一起为自己喝彩，我数一二三，大家一起喊：新大陆好样的，新大陆人好样的！

一，二，三！

二，

站在新大陆30年的时间节点上，我们充满了感恩。

首先是感恩时代。企业发展壮大，从来都是在大时代背景下的，也就是“时势造英雄”。新大陆在多次时代机遇面前都做出了正确的选择，实现了今天的发展成果。

其次是感恩党和国家。改革开放让中国进入新时代，国家发生翻天覆地的变化，民营经济因改革开放应运而生，也才有了我们施展拳脚的舞台。

第三是感恩关心和支持新大陆发展的相关领导和社会各界朋友们。创业之初，我们就得到了许多领导和各级党委、政府的鼓励和支持，尤其是福建省、福州市历任主要领导。有些时候，我都感觉到有些坎要过不去了，但总有人伸出援手拉我们一把，帮助新大陆挺过难关。

第四是感恩客户。客户给企业提供产品和服务的机会，才有了企业及其从业者们以科技创新施展才华、实现理想的可能性，新大陆很多好的产品创意和服务理念，都是和客户共同创造的，真正实现了“互利共赢”。

最后，我们要感恩新大陆的员工以及员工家属们。新大陆人就像是我的家人，一代又一代的新大陆人在不同的阶段为公司做出了卓越的贡献。同时，也正是有了员工家属们的默默奉献、有所牺牲、有所担当，才让新大陆人能够没有后顾之忧地努力奋斗，创造业绩、实现价值。

5年前，同样是在这个舞台上，我说过一句话：一路走来风风雨雨，我们相互砥砺，相伴相随，共同度过最宝贵的青春岁月，缔造了新大陆发展的传奇。能够和曾经的新大陆人、现在的新大陆人共度一段人生时光，这是我胡钢莫大的福分！希望我们大家都更加珍惜。

那么，这30年，我们共同奋斗过什么、经历过什么呢？这段时间，我对新大陆自1994年以来的“奇迹之旅”进行了系统思考，一共分为5个阶段。

第一个是创业阶段，时间是1994年到1997年。

1994年10月6日，在公司正式成立大约半年后，我们召开了第一次企业发展研讨会。之所以开这个会是为了纠正几个问题：发展上不够务实，业务上不够聚焦，内功上不够夯实。这些问题往往会出现在企业的创业期和快速发展期。

为此，我们明确提出了新大陆发展方向——以高科技为龙头的产业化、多元化、国际化的集团。围绕这一目标，我们在三年内完成了三步走：

1994年，建设产品研发体系和生产体系，初步构建全国性销售网点；1995年，确定“有限多样性经营”的策略，关闭一些已开设的小公司，集中投入金融信息化业务；1996年，探索软件和系统集成行业，围绕金融终端产品开发各种应用解决方案和银行应用软件。

三年创业期，我们遇到了很多预想之外的困难，团队成员肝胆相照、心心相印，共同撑过了这一段艰难的时期，资金得到快速积累，年营收从150万到4500万，员工数到287人。这些都为新大陆下一步发展奠定了很好的基础。

第二是二次创业阶段，时间是1998年到2000年。

我们清醒地意识到，企业在完成原始积累后，进入了转折期，因此提出“二次创业”。1998年9月，我们召开了新大陆二次创业总动员会，重新梳理发展战略愿景，推动从“技术为核心”向“市场为核心”转变。

这次会议上，我们明确提出，二次创业成功的标志是公司上市。为了快速做大规模，新大陆大举进军行业软件和系统集成业，正是有了在金融行业的经验，我们比较快速地在移动通讯、高速公路信息化领域有所斩获。同时，1999年5月，我们成立了新大陆中安公司，这是自动识别公司的前身，开始探索二维码技术。这一阶段，新大陆生物公司、药业公司和环保公司也相继成立。

2000年，新大陆在深交所上市，标志着本轮变革成功。

第三是“拐大弯”阶段，时间是2001年到2006年。

2001年1月10日，集团年度总结大会上，凝聚新大陆集体智慧的《新大陆集团发展纲要（2001－2005）》首次亮相，提出了以“拐大弯”方式推进从“产品提供商”向“产品提供商与IT综合服务提供商”的重大战略转变。

2002年到2006年，我们推动“扁平化”组织变革：组建金融产品事业部、系统集成事业部、高速公路事业部、金融IT服务事业部，建立产品研发中心，“4+1”的组织结构形成；我们组建新大陆软件工程公司，向行业IT服务商转型继续深入；我们成立上海翼码公司，全力发展“电子回执”业务。

也正是在这一阶段，我们首次提出——要使新大陆POS产品、二维码产品成为国产第一品牌。

第四阶段的变革，时间是2007年到2014年。

2007年1月，新大陆在福州于山宾馆召开研讨会，提出进入第三轮变革。2008年，我们开始导入战略管控型模式，梳理决策层、管理层、经营层三个层面责权利，成立各公司共享公共资源的服务平台，也就是今天的总部职能平台。

之后的两年间，我们做了两个影响至今的变化：其一，将金融产品业务、IT行业应用、商用事业部以及研究院、制造工厂合并，组成电子产品公司，后来改名为数字设备公司。在此基础上，新大陆支付公司于2012年正式成立；其二，成立房地产事业部，对大理、福建两个地产公司实行统一管理，支撑地产业务创造出良好的业绩，集团为了扶持上市公司发展，将福建地产项目装入上市体系，缓解了主业的业绩压力，同时也解决了公司主要骨干的住房问题，为主业的创新发展和外延扩张提供了很好的现金流支持。

第五是数字化转型升级阶段，时间是2015年至今。

习近平总书记视察新大陆后，公司开启第四轮变革，实现战略聚焦，创新商业模式，围绕战略内生式增长与外延式并购双轮驱动构建竞争力。从2015年到疫情之前的几年中，公司业绩实现稳步快速增长，人均效能也得到提升。

这一阶段，新大陆尤其在两个方面发力，也成为如今业绩的“支柱”：其一是从“卖铁锹”向“挖金矿”的转变，2016年，我们以6.8亿元收购国通星驿，先后一共陆续投入了十几亿的资金，进军数字商业领域。其二是进一步加大强化国际化布局，以支付、识别、通信等智能终端产业为“走出去”的主力军，收获了比较好的成效。在国内业务内卷严重的当下，海外市场的重要性就显得尤为突出了。

同时，我们也在为数字经济大爆发做准备。比如，我们以可信数字身份技术作为抓手，与公安部一所合作，做了大量基础性、系统性的研发工作，共同开发了一些支撑软件、专用芯片、专用服务器等，共同制定了许多技术规范和标准，协助开发一部分的系统平台以及便于再开发的中间件产品。同时，我们在出行、旅游等垂直场景上做了深度研究和应用开发，有望在这些行业中开始规模性的推广和应用。

从新大陆发展历程中，我们可以清晰地看到一条脉络：从创业期到后续的四轮变革，我们始终围绕国家战略方向、围绕时代发展趋势，也通过自我革命来顺应外部环境的变化，真正践行了“科技创新，实业报国”的初心。

新大陆与国家同频共振的案例有很多。比如，二维码应用已经融入我们生活的方方面面的，有一项统计说，全球每天会生成100亿个二维码，大家想象一下，如果我们每用一个二维码，就要给外国企业付哪怕只是1分钱的专利费，总共累加起来，那也是天价。正是我们新大陆，为国家守住了二维码技术专利。2011年，美国霍尼韦尔提出诉讼，说新大陆二维码识读产品侵犯了专利，要求赔付一笔巨款。但事实是，当时，霍尼韦尔为进军条码识读的产业，先后收购了两家行业内数一数二的公司，也向我们提出收购，想把新大陆自动识别相关技术和产品也兼并过去，但被我们拒绝了。因此，霍尼韦尔就威胁我们要打官司，意图用这种方式拖垮我们。面对这样的巨无霸企业，我们没有退缩，尤其是我们得知，霍尼韦尔的目的是形成垄断，让我们每一次使用二维码都要给它付专利费，这让我们更加坚定要死磕到底。我们前后一共打了8年的官司，在美国打了两场，在中国打了6场，一直打到国家最高法。这样的巨无霸企业真的太厉害了，在最高法判决新大陆胜诉一年后，案子居然还能被翻出来复审，一直到2019年12月，我们才获得了最终的胜利。大家可以想象，8年时间，公司花了多少钱，投入了多少资源，才捍卫住了这项技术。

30年来，我们也积极履行社会责任。近年来，新大陆每年纳税贡献5~6亿元，每年吸纳数百名来来自五湖四海的大学应届毕业生，也多次捐资助学，帮助寒门学子。同时，我们还参与脱贫攻坚、环境保护等公益事业中。在国家危难时刻，也都有新大陆的身影，比如新冠疫情、非典、汶川地震等等，公司不仅捐钱捐设备，我们员工也义不容辞地冲在抗灾第一线。据不完全统计，多年来，新大陆公司和领导员工们，一共捐赠了上亿元回馈社会。

当整体回顾完新大陆这30年的发展历程，我不由得开始思考：应当如何总结和归纳这30年呢？我们成功的经验到底是什么？面向未来，我们应当从中传承些什么呢？

人是要有一点精神的，企业同样如此。尤其是在艰难的环境和巨变的局势中，新大陆人宝贵的精神不仅不能丢，还要发扬光大。因此，在我看来，新大陆的企业精神，是最值得每一代新大陆人继承发扬、代代相传的宝贵财富。

第一是敢为人先的创新精神。创新，是新大陆发展最大的核心竞争力，我们就是靠创新发展起来的，这是公司立业之根本，是我们的致胜法宝。

“敢为天下先”的创新故事在新大陆屡见不鲜，除了大家熟知的第一台分体式POS机、第一个二维码解码芯片外，今天我想讲两个鲜为人知的故事。

也许很多人不了解，对社会经济产生深远影响的“第三方支付”模式其实是新大陆是先驱者。随着移动通讯和电子商务的兴旺，直觉告诉我们，这里应该是有创新机会的。为此，公司成立了一个创新小分队，我对小分队负责人说：“公司不会给你们具体的KPI指标，你们的任务就是去摸市场，找出一种新的商业模式。”之后，小分队先后在重庆、江西、湖南等地深入调查，发现第三收单业务是有市场前景，而且能够很好地和现有产业结合的。具体做法是，我们出钱铺POS机，发展各类线下商户，商户在形成交易流水后，我们再与金融机构分成手续费用。我们投入了重金，也收购了一个团队，正准备大干一场，可惜，当时第三方支付还是新鲜事物，政策法规还不够完善，我们的创新模式遭到整个体制围剿，十分艰难。最后我们和中国银联协商出一个折中的方案：新大陆把这些市场卖给银联，银联则大规模采购新大陆的POS机。

还有另一个鲜为人知创新故事。扫一扫二维码，就能完成支付，提到移动支付，大家更熟悉的是微信支付、支付宝支付等等，但其实新大陆才是中国最早创新移动支付的公司。众所周知，新大陆的二维码解码技术是全球领先的，也是全国唯一一家，当时，我们派了很多员工去腾讯、阿里、京东等互联网大厂，给他们讲条码怎么应用于支付，但是，互联网企业的模式就是“赢家通吃”，我们教会了他们之后，他们就只跟新大陆买设备，我们也非常遗憾地没有分享到运营的红利。

正因如此，新大陆开始反思：我们做了那么突破性的、改变人类生活的发明创造，但是，我们得到的商业利益太少。所以，我们又重新杀回第三方支付市场，开始做运营的工作，同时也参与到国家相关法规和标准的制定当中，为规范第三方支付市场做出贡献。

第二是脚踏实地的务实精神。踏实务实，是新大陆人最为宝贵优秀的品德，是我们能够不断在竞争中胜出的保障，也是沉淀至今的核心价值。

多年来，我们一直在强调两个观点：一个是新大陆的核心能力是：基于行业洞察和场景深度研究，将客户需求快速转化为优质、低成本的产品和服务。二是打造比较优势，这是形成核心竞争力的基础。比较优势怎么来？唯有依靠创新，并通过踏实务实的工作，也就是“苦练内功”，在经营各环节和生产各要素中，将其中一两个做到极致。

这几年来，支付公司取得的发展成绩，大家有目共睹。支付团队总结的成功的经验，我非常赞同。他们打造了一支密切合作的团队，从业务部门发现销售机会点，到研发响应实现需求，再到向客户交付产品和服务，全链条高效协同。具体表现在两点：一是团队能够敏锐洞察市场和客户需求变化，快速响应、高效决策，集中优势开发资源，实现短时间产品迭代；二是团队形成系统性供应链优势，各部门高效配合，交付保障表现出色。这些其实就是支付公司的比较优势，他们已经把这个观点真正融入到了经营工作中。

此外，我们攻关二维码解码核心技术的故事，也是务实精神的典范。1999年5月，我们成立中安公司，专门研发二维码技术产品，6个月后就和福州市公安局签订了“福州市暂住人口管理系统”项目。我们的二维码识读产品虽然有市场，可即便在微利情况下仍然饱受客户抱怨——价格太贵。原因在于识读设备核心部件得靠进口，尤其是识读模组价格非常高。

要不再受制于人，必须掌握二维码核心技术。二维码技术关键不在于“码”，而是解码，核心是识读算法。由于前期研发投入大、周期长，中安公司连续亏损6年，新大陆也坚持投入了6年。同期，还有两家实力比新大陆更加雄厚的公司也在攻关二维码技术，一家是联想，另一家是四通。但这两家公司在两三年努力没有成果后，选择了退出，最终只剩下新大陆还在坚持。为了鼓励研发团队，董事会每年都拿出钱来，给骨干工股权、工资、奖金激励。我很少参加子公司半年会，唯有这家公司每年我都去，给团队鼓劲打气、提振士气。

我们的坚持得到了回报。2005年，新大陆成功开发具有自主知识产权的二维码识读模组，成为全球4家掌握二维码核心解码技术的企业之一。后来，四通公司三个股东之一的王辑志专门来福州找我。当时，他受聘一家著名央企科研公司，担任首席科学家，唯一的工作就是帮助公司寻找下一代技术。他对我说，找了一大圈，还是看中了二维码，令他费解的是，我在福州这个相对闭塞的地方，为什么能做成功？于是，我给王辑志讲了这个故事，他听了以后非常感慨地说：“实业创新就是一种坚守，只有坚定的信念和扎扎实实地不断积累，才能取得最后的成功。”他很想说服我把二维码技术卖给他们。我笑着回复道：“这是我们的核心技术，不可能卖的”。

第三是善观时变的发展精神。这是新大陆成为时代企业的根本。面对时代的变化，面对行业的洗牌，必须改变观念，洞悉行业变化和市场脉络，才能制定“顺势而为”的战略和战术。

新大陆成长过程中的几次变革，本身就是很好的例证，面对时代的变化和机遇，通过改变自我、调整自我来顺应时代的发展。比如在数字商业领域，我们在2016年收购国通后，过了两三年好日子，由于整个行业比较粗犷，处于大发展期，各家公司基本都赚到了钱。但从2019年开始，国家对金融行业开始严监管，行业环境翻天覆地。一方面，野蛮增长的风口已经过去了。另一方面，规范要求越来越多，大幅增加了企业经营难度和成本。我们都认识到：国通公司必须改变自身，如果再走老路，就是死路一条。

为此，我们重拾收购国通时的初心，重回数字商业发展道路。2023年，董事会引入新经营团队，调整经营思路，围绕真实中小微商户数字化、生态化的增值服务、数据服务、场景建设以及垂直行业的深耕等等方面下功夫。我们一方面围绕国家的合规性要求进行大力整改，得到监管部门认可；另一方面秉持“结硬寨，打呆仗”的理念，优化迭代经营管理水平，对团队进行了整合优化，导入AI技术提升产品和服务的精细度和精准度，同时加大激励机制。经过一年多实践，国通有了巨大变化，已经能够比较好地适应外部环境，提升了经营业绩，也提高了经营质量，最可贵的是，我们具备了可持续发展能力，尽管还面临很多困难和变化，但数字商业前景还是非常乐观的。

正是在创新精神、务实精神、发展精神的引领下，新大陆一步一个脚印地走到今天，证明了新大陆人是有家国情怀、有使命担当、有理想追求的一群人。我可以无愧于心地说：我们是中国优秀的民营企业，我们没有辜负时代，也没有辜负我们自己的人生！

今年是新大陆30周年，也是新起点，我们开启了新一轮变革，目的是应对外部环境的巨变。巨变从来都是机遇和挑战并存，我们正是在一次次巨变中发展壮大的，历史充分证明，新大陆人有能力在巨变中抓住机遇、战胜挑战，我们有用血和肉熬出的好精神、好经验、好做法，我们有一支卓越 且久经考验的团队和员工队伍，这些都是我们面对巨变的底气。

我们将在几个方向上努力。第一，加强战略引领，有所为有所不为，收紧不挣钱或前景不够清晰的业务，加大力度支持符合时代发展趋势的公司和业务。第二，紧随国家数字经济战略，除已在做的智能设备继续升级做大做强外，发展以数字商业、可信数字身份为基础的相关产品、技术和服务。第三，进一步加强国际化的发展步伐，加速实现全球化布局。第四，实施双轮驱动，让资本和产业积极互动、相互赋能。第五，进一步优化和完善公司治理，完成有效传承、新老交替。

30年前，新大陆刚刚创立时，我曾引用一对古联来激励团队：有志者事竟成，破釜沉舟，百二秦关终属楚；苦心人天不负，卧薪尝胆，三千越甲可吞吴。人同此心，人同此志，因此我把横批拟定为——新大陆同志。

30岁新大陆，有鲜衣怒马的青春年华，有羽扇纶巾的从容气魄，有华彩真章的锦绣前程。时光深沉悠远，让我们都毅然来到新起点，勇闯新征程，奔向新大陆！

English Version

Newlanders from all over the world, good evening.

This is a big day for all Newlanders. We gather here today for the celebration of Newland Hi-Tech Group’s 30th birthday.

Thirty years ago, together with other passionate entrepreneurs, we rented two rooms, room 410 and room 411, at Yinlian Hotel, Guping Road, Fuzhou City. I still remember clearly that on January 9, 1994, our startup team convened the first meeting. At that time, we were still planning and preparing for the establishment of the company. Full of hope for the future, we discussed corporate frameworks, operation visions, and management principles, and formally named the new company Newland.

Thirty years fly by. As I stand on the stage for the celebration of Newland’s 30th anniversary, I reflect on what we have been through all the way, and my mind brims with thoughts.

Today’s Newland is our pride.

In payment, Newland is the top global provider of commercial digital technology services, delivering over 100 million terminals.

In AIDC, Newland is the world’s fourth largest handheld barcode scanner provider, and the third largest supplier of barcode scan engines globally.

In digital commerce, Newland is among China’s leading third-party payment operators, serving 3.7 million businesses, with annual transactions worth 2.5 trillion yuan. We have provided microloans of 28 billion yuan to micro, small and medium-sized businesses to help them maintain cash flows.

In software and big data, Newland has been listed among China’s top 100 software companies for 19 consecutive times, able to support core platforms with telecom-grade big data businesses.

In vocational education, Newland is Fujian’s only state-level enterprise integrating industry and academic research, cooperating with more than 1,600 universities across China.

In communication terminals, Newland provides smart terminals for global operators, and its smart manufacturing centers in China and beyond can produce as many as 50 million units annually.

In smart transportation, Newland has participated in electromechanical engineering projects for nearly 100 highways stretching for approximately 4,500 kilometers in 16 provinces and cities nationwide.

We also keep innovating and exploring in delivering the strategic initiative of Digital China. Newland has initiated the digital citizen concept and launched the first digital citizen pilot project. Technologies and applications related to credible digital identity are being gradually promoted in multiple industries.

Based on our strong record of payment technology development, we have explored innovative E-CNY technologies and applications, supported E-CNY payment scenarios in Beijing Winter Olympics, and launched E-CNY Industry Alliance, in which it serves as the inaugural governing unit.

We have also piloted cross-border e-commerce businesses for ticket market, and sales of medicines and healthcare products in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

From 18 founding members to more than 8,000 employees worldwide, from 21 square meters of hotel rooms to 90,000 square meters of garden-like science and technology parks and various subsidiaries, branches and offices around the world, from businesses worth 1.5 million yuan to revenues reaching tens of billion yuan, Newland has made a quantum leap over the past 30 years, a miracle in the Chinese history of private enterprises.

I think we deserve some recognition. On the count of one to three, let’s say together: Well done, Newland! Well done, Newlanders!

One, two, three!

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Newland, we are full of gratitude.

First, we are grateful to the times. As the saying goes, the times produce their heroes, companies always pursue progress against the backdrop of the times. Newland has made right choices in seizing multiple opportunities presented by the times, thus achieving today’s results.

Next, we are grateful to the party and the nation. The reform and opening up have propelled China into the new era, and the whole nation has undergone tremendous transformations. Thanks to reform and opening up, the private economy thrives, giving us a stage to shine.

Third, we are grateful to officials and friends from all sectors who have supported Newland’s development. Even when the company was just founded, we were encouraged and supported by officials from party committees and governments at all levels, especially major officials of Fuzhou City and Fujian Province. Sometimes even I felt that we were not going to make it this time, but there was someone who helped us get through difficulties.

Fourth, we are grateful to our customers. Customers offer us the opportunity to provide products and services, making it possible for us and our workers to show their talent and realize dreams through S &T innovations. Many of Newland’s great product ideas and service concepts are co-created with our customers, a true win-win.

Finally, we are grateful to our employees and their families. Newlanders are like my family, and generations of Newlanders have made great contributions to the company at different stages. At the same time, it is their families’ making sacrifices and shouldering responsibility that they can work hard carefree to create and deliver.

Five years ago, on this same stage, I said that through the ups and downs, we have stood in solidarity, spent the most precious years of youth together, and achieved Newland’s legendary development. It is my greatest privilege to be able to spend a part of my life with the former and the current Newlanders. This is something we should all cherish.

So, over the past three decades, what have we striven for and been through? Recently, I have systematically thought over Newland’s miraculous journey since 1994. I think there are five stages.

Stage 1, entrepreneurship, from 1994 to 1997.

On October 6, 1994, about half a year after the company was established, we held our first meeting on business development to address several problems: not pragmatic enough in development, not focused enough on business, and not solid enough in strength. These issues tend to appear in the start-up period and rapid development period of enterprises.

Therefore, we charted the course for Newland’s future development, namely building a industrial, multi-pronged, global-oriented group driven by high tech. To this end, we have taken three steps in three years.

In 1994, we established the product research and development system and production system, and basically put into place a national sales network. In 1995, we formulated the strategy of focused diversification, shut down some small companies, and concentrated on financial information business. In 1996, we explored the software and system integration industry, and developed various application solutions and banking application software centering on financial terminal products.

During the three years of entrepreneurship, we encountered plenty of unexpected difficulties. But team members stood together to tough it out. Then our capital quickly accumulated; our annual revenue skyrocketed from 1.5 million to 45 million; and the number of our employees increased to 287. All these laid a sound foundation for Newland’s further development.

Stage 2, the restart, from 1998 to 2000.

We were soberly aware that the enterprise entered a transitional period after completing the original accumulation. Therefore, we believed it was necessary to have the restart. In September 1998, we held the pep rally for restarting Newland by rethinking development strategic visions and pushing for the transition from tech-centered to market-centered approach.

At this meeting, we made it clear that the hallmark of a successful restart was the listing of the company. To scale up business quickly, Newland invested heavily in the industrial software and system integration industry. Thanks to our experience in the financial industry, we could make quick gains in mobile communications and highway informatization. At the same time, in May 1999, we established Newland Zhongan Company, the predecessor of Newland AIDC, and began to explore 2D barcode decoding technology. During this period, Newland Biotech, Newland pharmaceutical company and Newland Entech were also established.

In 2000, Newland was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, marking the success of this round of reform.

Stage 3, the momentous shift, from 2001 to 2006.

On January 10, 2001, at the group’s annual meeting, the Newland Group Development Outline (2001-2005), the gems of collective wisdom, was released. It was proposed that the group should undergo a major strategic transformation from being only a product provider to become both product provider and integrated IT service provider by taking a big turn.

From 2002 to 2006, we streamlined our organization by establishing financial products division, system integration division, highway division, financial IT service division, and product research and development center, thereby forming a 4+1 organizational structure; we set up Newland Software to continue transforming ourselves into an industrial IT service provider; and we founded Shanghai Imageco Information to develop the electronic receipt business.

It was also at this stage that we proposed making Newland China’s top brand in POS products and 2D barcode decoding products.

Stage 4, the transformation, from 2007 to 2014.

In January 2007, Newland held a symposium in Fuzhou Yushan Hotel, proposing the third round of reform. In 2008, we began to introduce a strategic control model, identifying responsibilities, rights, and interests at decision-making, management, and operation levels, and establishing a service platform of shared public resources for all affiliated companies, which later became today’s headquarters functional platform.

In the following two years, we made two changes with far-reaching impact till this day: the first was to merge the financial products business, IT industrial applications, commercial business department, and the research institute and manufacturing plant into an electronic products company, which was later renamed digital equipment company. On this basis, Newland NPT was established in 2012; the second was to establish the real estate business department, which put real estate companies in Dali and Fujian into unified management and supported the real estate business in delivering sound performance. The group supported the development of the listed company by integrating the Fujian real estate project into the listed system, which alleviated the pressure on the main business to deliver, and met the housing demand of the company’s top talent, providing a steady cash flow for the innovative development and outward expansion of the main business.

Stage 5, the digital transformation and upgrade, starting from 2015.

After General Secretary Xi Jinping’s inspection visit to Newland, the company initiated the fourth round of transformation to sharpen strategic focus, innovate business model, and build competitiveness by driving both strategic inherent growth and outward mergers and acquisitions. From 2015 till the outbreak of the pandemic, the company’s performance grew steadily and rapidly, and per capita efficiency also increased.

During this period, Newland made particular efforts in two sectors, which have become the company’s pillars today. The first is the transformation from “shovels selling” to “gold mining”, exemplified by our acquisition of Fujian Guotong Xingyi Network Technology Co., Ltd., for 680 million yuan in 2016, and our total investment of over 1 billion yuan in digital commerce. The second is to further strengthen and expand our international presence, spearheaded by our smart terminal industries including payment, AIDC, and communication, which has delivered good results. As the domestic market becomes overcompetitive, the overseas market has grown in importance.

At the same time, we are also preparing for the explosive growth of digital economy. For example, we are working with the First Institute of the Ministry of Public Security on plenty of fundamental and systematic R&D work of credible digital identity technology, jointly developing supporting software, special-purpose chips and servers, and formulating many technical specifications and standards. We have also assisted in the development of system platforms and reusable middleware products. Meanwhile, we have carried out in-depth research and application development for closely linked scenarios such as travel and transportation, which are expected to be promoted and applied at large-scale in these industries.

We can clearly see a thread weaving through Newland’s history. From the entrepreneurial period to the subsequent four rounds of reform, we have always focused on national strategies and trends of the times, and adapted to external changes through self-revolution. We have truly lived up to our original aspirations of “Pioneer Technological Innovation, and Serve the Nation Through Industrial Endeavors”.

There are many examples of Newland staying in tune with the state. For example, the 2D barcodes have already become part of our lives, with statistics showing 10 billion QR codes generated every day. You can imagine that even if one 2D barcode costs as little as 1 cent in patent fees payable to foreign enterprises, the total amount of expenses would still be dauntingly high. It is us Newland that has defended the 2D decoding technology patent for the nation. 

Over the past 30 years, we have also actively fulfilled our social responsibility. In recent years, Newland has paid 500 to 600 million yuan in taxes annually, recruited hundreds of college graduates from all over the world every year, and donated on multiple occasions to help underprivileged students. We also participate in poverty alleviation, environmental protection and other public undertakings. Newland always rose to national emergencies including the Covid-19 epidemic, SARS, and Wenchuan earthquake, by not only donating money and equipment, but also having our people working on the front line of disaster relief. According to incomplete statistics, over the years, the Newland and its managers and employees have donated in total hundreds of millions of yuan to give back to society.

After reviewing the 30-year history of Newland, I couldn’t help but start thinking: how should we summarize this 30-year period? What are our successful experiences? What should we carry forward to the next generation?

People need to have a certain spirit, and the same is true for enterprises. Especially in difficult circumstances and landscapes undergoing tremendous shifts, Newlanders can only promote their precious spirits instead of losing them. Therefore, in my opinion, Newland’s spirits are the most valuable asset that every generation of Newlanders should carry forward.

The first is the pioneering spirit of innovation.

Innovation, the biggest core competitiveness for Newland’s development, is the very reason why we have developed. It is the foundation of our business and our winning formula.

The stories of daring to be the first in innovation are not uncommon at Newland. In addition to the well-known first split-type POS machine and the first 2D barcode decoding ASIC chip, today I would like to tell two lesser-known stories.

Many people may not know that the third-party payment, a model with profound impact on socioeconomic development, was actually pioneered by Newland. We intuitively felt that thriving mobile communication and e-commerce provided possible opportunities for innovation. Therefore, the company formed an innovation team, and I told the team leader, “For you, the company will not set specific KPI indicators. Your task is to explore the market and find a new business model.” After that, the team conducted in-depth surveys in Chongqing, Jiangxi, and Hunan, and found that third-party payment receipt business was promising and could be well integrated with existing industries. The specific approach was that we would invest in promoting and introducing POS machines to various brick-and-mortar stores. After transactions were completed on the machines, we would then split the processing fees with financial institutions. We invested heavily and acquired a team, ready to make a big move. Unfortunately, at the time, third-party payment was still a novel concept, and the policy and regulatory framework was not yet fully established. Our innovative model was met with institutional objection, making it almost impossible to proceed. In the end, we compromised with UnionPay: Newland would sell these markets to UnionPay, and UnionPay would purchase large quantities of Newland’s POS machines.

There is another lesser-known story about innovation. Completing payment is easy with scanning a 2D barcode. While WeChat Pay and Alipay are more familiar examples of mobile payment, Newland is actually the first in China to innovate in mobile payment. Newland was then known for its globally leading 2D barcode decoding technology as one of its kind in China. At that time, we sent many workers to big internet companies like Tencent, Alibaba, and JD.com to explain barcode application for payment. However, internet companies believe in “winner takes all”. After we taught them, they only bought devices from Newland. Regretfully, we did not share in the operational benefits.

For this reason, Newland began to reflect on the minimal commercial benefits despite such groundbreaking and life-changing inventions. Therefore, we returned to the third-party payment market and began to do operational work, and also participated in the formulation of relevant laws and standards to contribute to the standardization of the third-party payment market.

The second is a pragmatic spirit.

Pragmatism is the most valuable quality of Newlanders, the guarantee for our continuous victories in competition, and the core value we still cherish today.

For many years, we have been emphasizing two viewpoints. One is that Newland’s core capability is to quickly transform customer needs into high-quality, low-cost products and services based on industry insights and in-depth research of scenarios. The other is to create comparative advantages, which is the basis for forming core competitiveness. How to gain comparative advantages? Only through innovation and down-to-earth work to strengthen and excel ourselves in one or two aspects across all the processes of management and factors of production.

In recent years, the achievements of the payment company have been evident to all. I wholeheartedly agree with the experience of success summarized by the payment team, and I highly endorse their approach. They have built a close-knit team that works closely together across all departments, from identifying sales opportunities in the business division to responding to customer needs in the research and development department and delivering products and services to customers. There are efficiency and synergy across the entire chain, specifically manifested in two features: the team can sharply identify changing markets and customer needs, quickly respond, make efficient decisions, concentrate their strengths on development and resources, and quickly upgrade their products; the team has formed a systematic supply chain advantage, with departments working efficiently together, delivering excellent performances. These are actually the payment company’s comparative advantages, and they have truly integrated this into their business operations.

Moreover, our story of 2D barcode decoding core technology breakthrough is also a model of pragmatism. In May 1999, we established the Zhong’an Company specifically for the research and development of 2D barcode decoding products. Six months later, we signed an agreement with the Fuzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau over the project of non-permanent residents management system. Our 2D barcode decoding products were marketable, but despite tiny margins, we still received customer complaints about high prices. The reason was that the core components of barcode decoding products had to be imported, especially the 2D barcode OEM engines, which were overpriced.

To break through the choke hold on supply, we must master the 2D barcode decoding core technology. The key to 2D barcode decoding technology is not the “barcode”, but decoding, and the core is barcode decoding algorithm. Due to large initial investment and long development cycle, Zhong’an Company suffered losses for six consecutive years, but Newland persisted in investing. During the same period, there were two other more resourceful companies also working on 2D barcode decoding code technology, with one being Lenovo and the other Stone. But after two or three years of fruitless efforts, the two companies opted out, leaving Newland as the only one to persist. To encourage the research and development team, the board of directors earmarked funds each year to provide key employees with stock rights, salaries, and bonuses as incentives. I seldom attended the semi-annual meetings of subsidiary companies, but I went to Zhong’an Company’s semi-annual meeting every year to encourage the team and boost their morale.

Our persistence paid off. In 2005, Newland successfully developed 2D barcode OEM engines with independent intellectual property, becoming one of the world’s only four companies mastering the 2D barcode decoding core technology. Later, Wang Jizhi, one of the three shareholders of Stone, made a point of visiting me in Fuzhou. At the time, he was hired by a well-known state-owned research company as chief scientist, and his only job was to help the company find the next-generation technologies. He told me that after looking around, he still found 2D barcode decoding technology most promising, but what puzzled him was how I had succeeded in the less connected city of Fuzhou. So I told him the story, and he said emotionally, “Industrial innovation is a matter of perseverance. Only with firm beliefs and consistent, solid work can one achieve ultimate success.” He really wanted to convince me to sell the 2D barcode decoding technology to them. I laughed and replied, “This is our core technology, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.”

The third is the spirit of identifying changes of the times.

This is what makes Newland a company of the times. In the face of changing times and industry reshuffling, it is necessary to change our views, gain insight into the industrial changes and market trends, in order to formulate strategies and tactics that follow the trend of the times.

The transformations during Newland’s development is a good example of following the trend of the times by self-adjustment in the face of changes and opportunities of the times. For example, in digital commerce, after acquiring Guotong Xingyi in 2016, we had a few good years, as the entire industry was in a period of wild growth, and most companies made profits. However, starting from 2019, the government began to tighten regulations over the financial industry, and the industry environment underwent a complete transformation. On one hand, the time for wild growth was over. On the other hand, more regulations were been put in place, significantly increasing the difficulty and cost of business operations. We all realized that Guotong Xingyi must change itself, otherwise it would hit a dead end.

Therefore, we have retraced our original path of digital commerce development when we acquired Guotong Xingyi. In 2023, the board of directors introduced a new management team and adjusted management strategies, focusing on ecology-based, data-driven, and scenario-based services and more refined industrial applications for related micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. On the one hand, we have made great efforts to comply with the regulatory requirements and have won regulatory approval. On the other hand, we uphold the vision of a strong fortress for a long fight, and upgrade and optimize our business and management levels, optimizing our team, introducing AI technology to enhance the precision and accuracy of our products and services, and increasing our incentive mechanism. After more than a year of practice, Guotong Xingyi has undergone significant changes and is now able to adapt better to the external environment. It has improved its business performance, and enhanced its business quality. What is most valuable is that we have the ability for sustainable development, and the prospect of digital commerce is still very bright despite many difficulties and changes.

It is guided by the spirit of innovation, pragmatism and development that Newland has taken one step at a time to reach where it is today, proving that Newlanders are patriotic and mission-driven in pursuing their dreams. I can say from my heart that we are an outstanding private enterprise in China, and we have not failed our times nor ourselves!

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Newland, and it is also a new starting point. We have launched a new round of reform aimed at adapting to the profound changes in the external environment. Profound changes always bring both opportunities and challenges. It is in the course of such profound changes that we have developed and grown. History has fully proved that Newlanders have the ability to seize opportunities and overcome challenges in profound changes. We have good spirits, good experiences, and good practices boiled down from blood, sweat, and tears. We have an outstanding and well-tested team and staff. All these are the confidence we have in facing profound changes.

We will make efforts in following aspects. First, we will strengthen strategic guidance, and stay focused. We will scale down not profitable or not promising businesses, and scale up our support for companies and businesses that are in line with the trend of the times. Second, we will follow the national digital economy strategy, in addition to continuing to upgrade and expand our smart devices, we will develop products, technologies, and services based on digital commerce and credible digital identity. Third, we will further accelerate our international reach and speed up the global presence. Fourth, we will be driven by both capital and industry, making them interact and mutually reinforce each other. Fifth, we will further optimize and improve corporate governance, and ensure effective transition from the old to the new.

30 years ago, when Newland was just established, I quoted a famous Chinese couplet to inspire the team: where there is a will there is a way; breaking cooking pots, sinking their ships—the one hundred and two Qin cities were taken by Chu finally; man of firm resolve never forsaken by fate, but one needs to endure great hardship—just three thousand armoured Yue troops, great victory over Wu did scoop. The same aspirations unite us all, so I have decided to write the horizontal inscription as “Newlanders with shared aspirations.”

Turning 30, the Newland boasts youthful exuberance, self-assured composure, and splendid prospects. The significance of time runs deep, so let us all resolutely set out on a new journey, bravely embark on a new expedition, and head for the new land!