Dalian builds on its world-class base

Editor's note: Dalian is one of the major port cities in northeastern China. It is also an economic powerhouse of the Liaoning provincial economy. In an interview with China Business Weekly reporter Zhang Xiaomin, Liu Dechun, the director general of Dalian Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau, explained the role of Dalian in the development of the coastal economic belt in Liaoning province.

Q: On July 1, the State Council approved the development plan of the coastal economic belt in Liaoning province as a national strategy. What is the importance to Dalian, a coastal city in the province?

A: It is an important measure for the State to promote the revitalization of the old industrial base in northeastern China, and to boost the development of Liaoning province and the whole northeastern region.

Dalian, which lies in the southern tip of Liaoning province and the Liaodong Peninsula, is a core city that will play a leading role in the coastal economic belt, according to the development plan.

The Liaoning coastal economic belt consists of 28 key economic areas, and half of them are located in Dalian, covering 54 percent of the province's land area. The coastal economic belt development strategy will help attract more foreign and domestic investments to areas such as Dalian Changxingdao Harbor Industrial Area and the Dalian Economy and Technology Area.

Dalian, one of the first coastal cities to open up in the early 1980s when China implemented its reform policies, reflects the ongoing development of northeastern China.

With the State-granted favorable policies, as well as the newly approved national strategy, Dalian will play an active role in revitalizing the old northeastern industrial base.

This coastal city has taken major steps to develop financial, tourism and computer software sectors. The new strategy gives the city an impetus for economic and technological cooperation with countries in northeastern Asia, especially Japan and South Korea.

Q: The development plan for Liaoning's coastal economic belt defines Dalian as a core of the region. Why is Dalian a core city?

A: The core position of Dalian can be reflected in the following ways:

1) Dalian takes the lead among the six major cities in the economic belt in total economic output, which is a key factor to judge whether a city is the core of a region.

Currently, the total economic output of Shenzhen accounts for 26 percent of the Pearl River Delta's economy. Both Shanghai and Tianjin account for less than 25 percent of their regions' economies.

By comparison, the economic output of Dalian accounts for 55 percent of the economies of the six cities in the Liaoning coastal economic belt.

2) Dalian will be built into an important shipping center of northeastern Asia as an international logistics center and a large financial district, according to the national strategy.

3) Dalian is developing its major counties into city clusters to facilitate its urban progress.

In the future, Dalian will be able to accommodate 10 million people. It will boast a world-class infrastructure and a more advanced transportation system.

4) The city is stepping up its efforts to develop environmentally friendly sectors such as the new energy-saving automobile industry, nuclear and wind power plants, software sectors and its outsourcing industry.

It will also nurture such backbone industries as manufacturing, ship-building, petrochemicals and the large-scale integrated circuit industry.

Q: What has the Dalian Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau done to promote the economic development of this coastal area in recent years?

A: In 2005, the Liaoning provincial government initiated a development plan called "Five Points, One Line" to strategically link cities in Liaoning province. It was designed to rewrite the economic landscape of the region.

As part of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010), huge investments have been made in the cities of Dandong, Dalian, Yingkou, Panjin, Jinzhou and Huludao to develop their infrastructures.

Dalian authorities have been actively promoting industrial parks and economic zones to support the "Five Points, One Line" plan.

To date, Dalian boasts 14 key areas in the coastal economic belt that have established a good foundation for the city to become the core of the coastal economic belt plan.

The provincial government placed an emphasis on developing the northern part of the Yellow Sea by promoting development of Zhuanghe county.

Dalian officials and experts have worked out similar guidelines to promote development of the Yellow Sea area.

The development plan of the coastal economic belt will provide a good opportunity for Dalian to attract domestic and foreign investment.

(China Daily 08/03/2009 page6)