Province eyes 10 percent growth in people's incomes

By Zhao Ruixue | China Daily | Updated: 2011-06-01 08:30

The Yellow River Delta Nature Reserve in Dongying has over 1,550 species of fauna and 300 bird species. Wei Dong / For China Daily

During the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-2015), Shandong will intensify its efforts to update its economic structure and development mode.

Main targets

Overall economic strength will be enhanced.

Shandong plans an average annual gross domestic product growth of 9 percent, revenue growth of 14 percent, and a fixed assets investment growth of 15 percent.

The province also aims at an average annual 9 percent growth in utilizing foreign investment.

Development in rural areas is important for the province's overall economy. So Shandong will work to balance urban and rural development by building more low-income housing, improving the healthcare system, and updating public services.

By 2015, the province's urbanization will be more than 55 percent.

People's well-being is the main concern of the Shandong government. The province promises that the incomes of both urban and rural residents will rise by an annual 10 percent and that the urban unemployment rate will be less than 4 percent.

The natural environment will be greatly improved with forest coverage reaching 25 percent by 2015.

As an agricultural province, Shandong will establish grain, oils, fruit and vegetable, and aquatic product centers targeting both the overseas and domestic markets.

It will also develop manufacturing bases for automobiles, ships, electronics, home appliances, textiles, as well as raw material bases for petroleum, coal and steel.

In the field of emerging industries, Shandong will focus on new energy, new materials, information technology, pharmaceuticals and maritime development.

Their added value is expected to account for 10 percent of Shandong's GDP.

Shandong has rich maritime resources, so it will develop its maritime economy, including fisheries, maritime equipment manufacturing, ocean minerals and ocean tourism.

The service industry will set its sights on finance, modern logistics, information, outsourcing, tourism, and real estate.

Their added value is expected to account for 45 percent of the province's GDP.

To improve its infrastructure, the province will add 2,280 kilometers of railways and 1,700 kms of highway, and open 280 new air routes in the following five years.