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Bao Jiajin: Pioneering the “wilding” of Ganoderma lucidum with a spirit of “going against the tide” — 2024 “Growing Toward the Sun”: A Journey of Exploration and Practice by One Hundred Zhejiang Entrepreneurs

Release date:

2024-02-17

In a great era, the winds are rising once more.

In 2024, who will spearhead the next wave of China’s economic development? Who will serve as the new engine driving China’s robust growth? And who will be the vanguard propelling China’s economy toward a brighter future?

Zhejiang merchants,

A group of pioneers riding the wave of reform and opening-up,

A group of seekers who deeply understand the secrets behind China’s economic growth,

A group of pioneers who deeply understand the root of the problems and boldly tackle them, paving the way for high-quality development.

2024, Zhejiang Merchants

Braving every obstacle, we reclaim our glory and our dreams;

Ride the wind and break the waves, hoist the sails high and cross the vast sea.

The Zhejiang Merchants Development Research Institute (Zhejiang Merchants Think Tank), the magazine “Zhejiang Merchants,” and Chao News have jointly launched a large-scale annual integrated-media report— 2024: Thriving in the Sun—The Exploration and Practice of a Hundred Zhejiang Entrepreneurs By drawing on the original insights of Zhejiang entrepreneurs, this work addresses the pressing challenge of high-quality development in our era, offering new pathways and approaches to counter market pessimism and stagnation, thereby illuminating the practical significance and future value of a vision for China’s economic brightening.

Zhejiang Business Magazine: As the year draws to a close and the new year approaches, what are your assessments and expectations for Zhejiang and for the future development of China’s economy? And on what basis do you form these expectations?

Bao Jiajin: From the Central Economic Work Conference, we have concluded that the fundamental trend of China’s economy—its recovery and sustained improvement over the long term—remains unchanged. An open China will continue to offer the world greater opportunities for cooperation, and we are fully confident in the bright prospects of the Chinese economy.

Zhejiang Business Magazine: Focusing on the current development of enterprises, what challenges and opportunities do they face? What are your plans for 2024, and have you already taken any concrete steps recently?

Bao Jiajin: Ji Baichuan Pharmaceutical, adopting the stance of “those who go against the tide,” is pursuing the wild‑cultivation of Ganoderma lucidum, placing quality above all else. This approach, however, will lead to higher production costs, which in turn necessitates an increase in the retail price of our company’s Ganoderma spore powder. Convincing customers to accept such pricing presents a significant challenge.

However, on the other hand, as consumers’ demand for natural, organic products continues to grow, JibaiChuan’s “wild‑cultivation” approach to cultivating lingzhi mushroom is poised to win recognition among high‑net‑worth individuals. More importantly, as traditional Chinese medicine assumes an increasingly strategic role in China, the opportunities it presents will only continue to expand.

In 2024, the company will expand its ganoderma cultivation base, firmly advancing the “wilding” of ganoderma and imbuing it with greater wild‑nature qualities. Recently, our efforts to standardize wild‑cultivation techniques for ganoderma and to establish the “Six Areas of Excellence” framework have entered their final stages.

Zhejiang Business Magazine: If you were asked to define “2024” with a single keyword, which word would you choose and why?

Bao Jiajin: Stability with improvement. Over the three years following 2019, the most significant impact on Chinese consumers has been a shift in their consumption mindset. Today, this new consumer ethos has taken root; those who can seize the emerging opportunities will be poised for growth.

Zhejiang Business Magazine: Amid unprecedented global changes in a century, what business insights and experiences do you have to share with your fellow Zhejiang entrepreneurs?

Bao Jiajin: In this era of unprecedented change in a century, I see four distinct dimensions to these transformations, with the shift in consumer attitudes being the most relevant to our company. We must align with this trend, leverage digital and intelligent technologies, and reorient our marketing strategies—focusing on customer experience and private‑domain engagement—to forge new markets in this evolving landscape.

Zhejiang Business Magazine: If you could make a wish, what would your aspirations be for 2024? Looking ahead to the next three to five years—or even longer—what interim goals do you have?

Bao Jiajin: Health—both personal well-being and the sound development of businesses—is my heartfelt wish for all my friends.

Our company is dedicated to the ganoderma and ganoderma spore powder industries, following the traditional path of ganoderma cultivation. To this end, our primary goal is to build a robust ecological ganoderma base, forging a unique “wilding” approach to ganoderma farming that bears the distinctive JibaiChuan hallmark, and pioneering new product categories: “wild‑grown ganoderma” and “wild‑grown ganoderma spore powder.”