Clean air, advanced technology and a good talent pool have been highlighted in the development blueprint of Weihai in Shandong Province, according to Song Yuanfang, mayor of the city.

The city, which faces Japan and the Republic of Korea across the Yellow Sea, has always valued the importance of a good living and working environment for its residents and investors.

The city is 43.5 per cent green, with "an air quality that is as good as in a nature reserve", said Song, in an interview with China Daily.

As one of the most competitive cities in the country, Weihai has won many titles, including the National Hygiene City, Environmental Protection Model City, Excellent Tourist City and an award from the United Nations in 2003.

Weihai's achievement in building a greener city is a result of strict policies banning polluting factories and high energy-consuming projects in the past two decades. "We have a very effective veto scheme to say no to polluting projects," said Song.

The city has also developed a sound market economy system with core values of a transparent legal system, fair competition and good faith. "Our goal is to create a better place for people to set up business," Song added.

Action to realize this goal started in the early 1990s when Weihai took the lead among China's medium-sized cities in launching national-level high-tech industrial parks.

Now with more than 10 industrial parks, the Weihai Economic and Technological Development Zone has made great strides in both investment attraction and economic growth.

A total of 4,700 foreign-funded enterprises, including those funded by eight Fortune 500 companies, have settled in the zone.

With an accumulated foreign investment of more than US$5 billion, Weihai has become one of the most important investment destinations in China's northern regions.

In recent years, reform and development of large and medium-sized enterprises has injected vital energy into the city's booming economy.

Five local companies successfully went public, representing a citywide initiative to improve governance structure of enterprises here.

The city's future is also based on its solid foundation in its pillar industries including transportation, electronic information, textile, apparel and food. So far, Weihai has more than 14,000 industrial manufacturers, producing over 2,000 kinds of products.

The mayor has vowed to enhance the presence of the city's manufacturing, tourism and agriculture processing industries in the coming years.

Tourism has been a major contributor to the coastal city's economy. Last year, 8.67 million domestic tourists visited the city, generating revenues of 6.71 billion yuan (US$820 million).

Also in 2005, agricultural products processing and poultry industries gained an export value of US$630 million, taking up 18.2 per cent of the city's total export revenues. Its aquatic products output reached 2.43 million tons.

However, talent pool and technological capacity, the most important factors for economic growth, have bottlenecked Weihai for many years.

"We are making greater efforts to nurture high-tech industry," said Song, citing ongoing projects, including a venture capital company, two research and development centres, two innovation centres and five national "863 Plan" bases and six post-doctoral work stations.

To maintain a sustainable supply of talented and skilled professionals for the city, the mayor stressed the value of colleges and technical schools.

Branches of Shandong University and Harbin University of Science and Technology have been built in the city. Also, a new technical school is expected to train more than 20,000 skilled workers annually.

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