Business environment

Located in the southern wing of the Yangtze River Delta region and southeastern part of East China's Zhejiang Province, Ningbo has experienced sustainable and rapid economic development since China launched the reform and opening-up in 1979.

In 2016, Ningbo recorded a GDP of 854.11 billion yuan ($129 billion), a growth rate of 7.6 percent. Its per capita reached 108,804 yuan, with an increase of 7.0 percent.

As an industrial hub and a manufacturing powerhouse, Ningbo registered an industrial output of 376.66 billion yuan in 2016, with strengths in auto manufacturing, tobacco, petrochemicals, home appliances and clothing industries.

Endowed with favorable harbor logistics conditions, Ningbo is a major coastal open city with its total amount of foreign trade exceeding $100 billion. In 2016, the cargo handling capacity of Zhoushan port of Ningbo reached 920 million tons, ranking first in the world. It handled 21,561,000 standard containers in 2016, making it the world's 4th largest international por.

As an industrial hub and a manufacturing powerhouse, Ningbo registered an industrial output of 376.66 billion yuan in 2016, with strengths in auto manufacturing, tobacco, petrochemicals, home appliances and clothing industries.

Ningbo has been designated as one of the first pilot areas for the "Made in China 2025" plan. The decision will enable Ningbo to experiment and explore new models for manufacturing, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

To anchor potential investment and business development, Ningbo has worked to improve its policy and economic environment. For example, since Jan 1, 2016, electricity fees for industrial users have been cut by 0.045 yuan per kilowatt-hour, easing the burden on enterprises by 3.8 billion yuan annually. Meanwhile companies without self-supported power facilities are subsided by a reduction of 0.2 yuan for every kilowatt-hour used.