Editor’s note: On Mar. 3, 2009, carrying two proposals on people's livelihood, Professor Xu Jiayin, a member of the 11th session of the CPPCC National Committee, and the chairman of the board of directors of Evergrande Real Estate Group, participated in and discussed political affairs and other major and important matters, which arouse great attention among the public. According to statistics, from the inauguration to the end of the conference, more than 200 domestic and foreign media interviewed Mr. Xu, the committee member. More than 300 thematic comments and more than 1,700 positive news reports about the proposals of Mr. Xu and Evergrande have swept across various communication platforms such as the national news agencies, newspapers, TV stations, broadcast stations, and the Internet. At one time, Mr. Xu Jiayin, the committee member, Evergrande, three controls, meagre profit, and people's livelihood have become the key words that are hot until now. The good public opinion environment of such a large scale at such a high level may be termed as “an exceptionally grand occasion”. For this reason, a few days ago, the reporter especially interviewed Mr. Xu Jiayin, the chairman of the board of directors of Evergrande, and a member of the CPPCC National Committee. 

Admonition concerning people's livelihood in the two Conferences

Reporter: During the two Conferences, you put forward two proposals, namely, Setting up the Mechanism of Compulsory Donation of Enterprise Profits and Setting up the Fund for Helping Low-Income Families and Proposal on Three National Controls on Reduction of House Prices for Guaranteeing the Long-Term Stable and Healthy Development of the Real Estate Market. Could you please introduce your original intention and opinions as to this?

Xu Jiayin: With the influence of the financial crisis, entrepreneurs of China should constantly promote the own social moral value at the present stage, and make efforts for the development of a harmonious society, especially for the people's livelihood. So before the convocation of the two Conferences, after the on-the-spot investigation and professional research, I submitted two pertinent proposals concerning people's livelihood to the Conference, namely, Setting up the Mechanism of Compulsory Donation of Enterprise Profits and Setting up the Fund for Helping Low-Income Families and Proposal on Three National Controls on Reduction of House Prices for Guaranteeing the Long-Term Stable and Healthy Development of the Real Estate Market.

In last year, there were more than 125 million low-income population in cities and towns in our country with high potential pressure. The global financial crisis further increased the pressure. It became extremely urgent to increase channels and organize social power for helping the low-income families. So in the first proposal, I proposed that the government should set up the fund for helping low-income families in cities and towns of the country first of all, and then the government should compel the profitable enterprises in all cities and towns in the Mainland of China to donate certain percent of the profits to the fund for solving various difficulties of the low-income families in cities and towns in the aspects such as housing, employment, and consumption, etc, alleviating the social pressure caused by the financial crisis, and promoting the great objective of constructing a harmonious society.

The second proposal is about the house prices, which is also an issue that the common people care about. The sharp ups and downs of house prices influence the economy, people's livelihood, and the stability of the society, which is the major issue concerning the overall situation of the country. The sharp ups of the house prices restrict the requirement of low-income families to buy houses, which is unfavorable to the harmony and stability of the society, and the sharp downs cause social problems such as consumption sluggishness, economic depression, and turbulent society. So, I propose that the government should solve problems from several essential factors of which the house price is composed. The strict means of three controls, namely, control on the land prices, control on taxes, and control on profits, should be set up for the achievement of three interest concessions respectively by the local governments, the central government, and enterprises, so that the house prices can be reduced to stable and reasonable levels, thus guaranteeing the long-term stable and healthy development of the real estate market and the harmony of the society.

Efforts of a lifetime for a harmonious society

Reporter: In recent years, you and Evergrande Real Estate Group has always been making earnest efforts for the charities. According to incomplete statistics, the accumulative total of contribution has reached 175 million yuan, and you have successively won a series of honors, such as the National Compassionate Donation Award, Top 10 Charitarians of the Year, and China Charity Award, etc. What to you think as to this?

Xu Jiayin: First of all, the honors are unexpected to me. As a member of the real estate industry, all that I did including the construction of fine building works, the setup of the party committee in the enterprise, the building of Hope primary schools, the project concerning the common aspirations of the people, and the donation to the tsunami disaster area are for realizing a dream in my heart, namely, to give a house to the consumers, staff members of the enterprise, children unable to go to school, poor peasant households, masses in disaster areas, and more people. A philanthropic act can warm the hearts of people for a long time, so I will proceed to help people by every possible means without hesitation. My objective is still far away after all these are done. I hope to devote my energy of a lifetime to the cause. I even hope that my action can appeal more people, especially entrepreneurs, to participate in and support the charities. I think only when more entrepreneurs actively participate in the cause and devote their compassion could the social atmosphere for the charities of China be built, so that the charities can be developed to a higher level, and contributions can be made for the construction of a harmonious society.

Charity is an important property of a corporate citizen

Reporter: Just as you said before, there are now many views on the concept of corporate citizen. How do you think of the corporate citizen?

Xu Jiayin: The conducts of so-called corporate citizens mainly include six aspects, namely, company management and moral value, environmental protection, supply chain partnership, protection of the rights and interests of staff members, public welfare, and protection of consumer rights and interests. A more simple understanding is that the corporate citizen is about a new contractual relation between the enterprise, the government, and the society. The concept of citizen indicates the rights and obligations. To extend the concept of citizen into the area of the social responsibilities of enterprise - to create the concept of corporate citizen, not only indicates the appeal that enterprises should undertake more social responsibilities, but also includes the legal assurance for the rights and obligations of enterprises that participate in the transformation of the social environment.

A successful enterprise must be an enterprise with the awareness of the obligations of citizens. An enterprise with the awareness of obligations of citizens not only pays attention to the economic performance of the own company, but also cares about and makes efforts to improve the important influence of the enterprise conduct on the society and environment. In fact, “corporate citizen” means that an enterprise as a team performs its social responsibilities. The brand and the reputation, instead of the single conduct of the enterprise, should reflect the image of the corporate citizen.

To participate in donation and charity activities is a kind of obligations that a corporate citizen should undertake. Except the charities and tactic donation of enterprises, the concept of corporate citizen should also include the social contribution of staff members of enterprises, the leading role of staff members in public welfare, the commercial moral in a larger scope (including the environmental protection policies, working environment, and employee welfare), and the high-quality products and service quality, etc.

I can continuously reward the society only through the development of the enterprise

Reporter: It seems that you regard it as the primary mission of the company to be a responsible corporate citizen. Nevertheless, how should you as the leader of a corporate citizen handle the relation between the enterprise development and charities?

Xu Jiayin: We cannot regard charity as the only mission of an enterprise. In order to continuously undertake obligations and reward the society, an enterprise needs powerful economic strength. Only development is the absolute principle. I think that only based on the healthy development of an enterprise could the enterprise reward the society and undertake social obligations. Since its establishment, with the attention of the Party and the government, Evergrande has been constantly enhancing the advantages for competition based on creditability and driven by innovation. It has kept the national characteristic, the modernity, and the advance of the management theory all the time, and has achieved the hyper-normal and leap-type development.

Along with the development of the cause, the train of thought is constantly updated. Facing the future, Evergrande will adapt to the market and occupy the market depending on the good development situation of the enterprise by means of more scientific management, higher product quality, and more flexible strategies, march towards the beautiful future together with the society, and devote itself and serve the society to the largest extent.