City plays key role in international trade development

As China continues to promote trade with Japan and the Republic of Korea, the city of Weifang in Shandong province is playing a key role in developing this relationship.

Boasting a local GDP of 517 billion yuan ($77.2 billion) last year and registering 8.3 percent growth, Weifang has an impressive economy.

According to Weifang's publicity director Ding Hanbang, the city has the 35th largest economy in China.

City officials indicated that the China-Japan-ROK Industries Expo is key to this trade. With a theme of "openness, cooperation, and win-win results", the expo has attracted top businesses from all over East Asia.

The previous expo, held in September last year, attracted 579 enterprises, of which 332 were from Japan and the ROK. Nine of the Japanese companies were among the world's top 500 companies. The 2015 expo led to new investment projects. As the Weifang government prepares for this year's expo, which will run from Sept 23 to 25, it is expected to see these numbers increase.

During a recent "Discover Weifang" ROK and Japanese media tour to the city, the participants said that they were extremely impressed with the planning officials are putting into the upcoming expo, and anticipate it will further strengthen the trade relationship between the East Asian nations.

Weifang has already attracted some top domestic companies to invest in the region.

Beiqi Foton, an automobile company headquartered in Beijing, has set up a factory in the Weifang High-Tech Industry Development Zone.

Producing both commercial and consumer-use vehicles, Foton is one of China's top automobile companies.

Weichai Group was founded in Weifang in 1946, and has since been producing construction machinery and engines for trucks and buses. Weichai recently purchased both the Italian yacht company, Ferretti, and the German hydraulics company, Linde.

In terms of Weichai's attempts to bring in future investors, many ROK and Japanese reporters told China Daily that they were most impressed by the Binhai Economic and Technological Development Area.

Though it is currently just a massive expanse of salt fields with an under-construction monument and a few highrises, Binhai is an extremely ambitious project to build an investor-friendly city along the Weifang coast.

With its annual expos and commitment to building a seaside city specifically for investors, Weifang is a city that is clearly planning for a future focused on continued trade with Japan and the ROK.

iancallison@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/07/2016 page15)