The core teachings of Chinese philosopher and educator Confucius have been followed well in the great sage's home province of Shandong.

The province is promoting a campaign called "Honest Lushang" among local enterprises, using the ancient name for businesspeople from Shandong. The program that was launched last year is designed to encourage local businesspeople to abide by common Confucian maxims and promote Chinese traditional virtues, such as to be honest, hardworking, fulfilling one's social responsibility, and to not cheat or overcharge clients.

"We are trying to make 'Honest Lushang' a significant business cultural brand of Shandong," Guo Shuqing, governor of the province, told China Daily at the ongoing National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference meetings that opened in Beijing on March 5.

"The program will enhance the overall reputation and competitiveness of local enterprises, and help the province build a sound business and financial environment."

In this year's government work report, the governor used around 2,000 words to describe the cultural resources in Shandong. He said the local government should better capitalize on its rich culture resources to provide new impetus for economic growth.

Guo stressed that culture should be integrated into the reform and development of local companies. "The 'Honest Lushang' program is a good attempt to promote development that coordinates culture and economy," he said. In September, 50 provincial government departments, including the Shandong administration for industry and commerce and the Shandong development and reform commission, signed an agreement to praise the virtue of honesty and punish deceitful behavior by local enterprises. According to the agreement, local companies will be assessed with new criteria including product quality, safe production, respecting intellectual property rights, environmental protection and social responsibility.

Businesses appraised as honest will receive priority in accessing preferential policies for financing, taxation and land examination and approval.

Those who break the principles will receive harsh punishment. For instance, they will not be allowed to participate in government purchases, apply for support policies or bid for major government projects. "Honesty is one of the most treasured Chinese traditional virtues which businesspeople should keep in mind during the whole production process," said Zhang Zhiyuan, president of the financial monetary college at the Shandong University of Finance. Zhang's statement was echoed by many business leaders in the province.

"Being honest and sincere has become an important part of our business culture, which helps us achieve sustained and stable growth," said Qin Yufeng, chairman of Dong'e Ejiao Co Ltd.

The company is the nation's largest producer by market share of ejiao, a traditional Chinese medicine made from donkey hide that is used to improve blood supply.

As machinery use in agriculture widens, donkeys are seldom found working in fields anymore, which has dampened farmers' interest in raising the animal. The shortage of donkeys is threatening the ejiao industry and some small ejiao producers have been found to cheat on their raw materials. To solve that problem, Qin's company has invested 490 million yuan ($78.1 million) to build a donkey-breeding center and plans to increase its stud scale to 10,000 by the end of this year.

"We choose large black donkeys for breeding, because ejiao made from black donkey hide is believed to have the highest medicinal value," said Qin, who said product quality is the lifeline of business.

Li Xuemin, general manager of the Shandong-based China Railway 10th Engineering Group, said the essence of the "Honest Lushang" program also include taking good care of employees. Last year the company spent 1.85 million yuan helping needy workers.

"The average annual income of workers was raised by almost 10 percent over the previous year, to allow them to share in the fruits of the company's growth," Li said.

Contact the writers at juchuanjiang@chinadaily.com.cn and wangqian2@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/06/2015 page15)