Special Supplement: Advanced and competitive

The city of Dalian is one of China's major industrial bases, boasting streamlined infrastructure for manufacturing.

Leading other northeastern cities in gross industrial product, Dalian has developed an advanced industrial system led by the hi-tech industries.

Nationwide, it ranks first in production scale in sectors such as shipbuilding, the petrochemical industry, locomotive manufacturing, large-scale machinery and the production of refrigeration equipment.

During the period of the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05), the city invested more than 93.4 billion yuan in the reconstruction and innovation of different industrial sectors. It has registered 740 billion yuan in industrial gain thanks to the process.

New key industries like engine production, high-end steel making, and computer software R&D have helped diversify the manufacturing capabilities of this unique city.

The city has witnessed huge development to its industrial sector, which generated a gross industrial output value of 222 billion yuan in the first half of 2007.

Boosting enterprise capacity

Policies and plans are being rolled out to help cultivate the ongoing development of this city's competitive and profitable industrial sector, including R&D,

Some 15 companies in Dalian have already been recognized as the city's model R&D centers.

In the short and long term, cooperation and exchanges between research institutions and enterprises will help give this sector a more competitive edge to help spur economic growth.

Enterprises will be given incentives to encourage them to be innovative.

Moving forward the right way

So far in 2007 Dalian has sped up the pace to phase out manufacturing processes that chew up natural resources quickly and cause excessive pollution.

A mechanism of assessment and examination over all new industrial projects has been established to watch over key industries including petrochemical and electricity producers.

Favorable policies and support are given to "clean" enterprises.

The monitoring mechanism reports accurate and timely data when assessing enterprises.

Promoting project construction

Dalian has established the industrial investment project database and adopted dynamic management policies.

This year 2,300 industrial projects have been approved to be constructed with an overall investment of 125 billion yuan.

Attracting more investment

The layout of Dalian's industrial parks has been developed in a way to promote synergy in its available infrastructure.

The harborside industrial parks are a magnet for investment and are hubs for the building, textile, and food production industries.

Thinking big

Dalian has chosen to support some big enterprises that have good prospects and competitiveness.

The 10 Billion Project has been carried out to foster the development of enterprises which should have a turnover of more than 10 billion yuan.

So far, four companies such as Petroleum & Chemical Corporation and Western Pacific have realized the goal.

Moreover, the city also focuses on the development of smaller operations, to ensure diversity in the area's industrial structure.

(Shanghai Start 09/07/2007 page6)