Dalian to reform its opening-up policy

The busy Port of Dalian, in Northeast China’s Liaoning province [Photo/IC]

The government of Dalian in Liaoning province has in May released 45 measures aiming to further expansion through proactively utilizing foreign capital. 

The measures mainly focus on 12 aspects that are generally of concern to foreign firms, namely industrial investment support, operating costs, land use for projects, human resources, competition and simplifying investment. 

These measures, most sweeping since China’s reform and opening-up policy implemented in 1978, show Dalian’s determination in opening up the economy.

So far, the government’s efforts in opening-up have paid off. In the first half of this year, the actual utilization of foreign capital in Dalian has reached $1.92 billion, accounting for 59.7 percent of the province.

Paying equal attention to attracting foreign investment, professional know-how and technology, the government has promoted various ways of utilizing foreign capital, including promoting industrial and capital investment, and pushing mergers and acquisitions. For example, the government has invited Hong Kong financing capital to participate in the Lushun industrial guidance fund, the first foreign-funded industrial guidance fund in the city.

The structure of foreign capital utilization has been optimized with greater links and coordination between major manufacturing projects and introducing new projects like Canon medical equipment and Jemei Pharmaceuticals. In the first half of the year, manufacturing accounted for 82% of foreign capital utilization.

The government has also strengthened cooperation with foreign capital in modern service industries such as information technology, warehousing and logistics, e-commerce, pension and medical care. 13 financial leasing companies and 12 foreign-funded cross-border e-commerce firms have been newly established in the city.

Besides expanding the scale of bringing in foreign capital, Dalian also actively explores emerging international markets. In this first half, the total import and export volume reached 224.34 billion yuan ($32.90 billion), an increase of 8 percent; of which exports were 88.08 billion yuan, an increase of 3.7 percent, accounting for 57.2% of the province.

On the back of experience with traditional trade markets like Europe, the United States, Japan and South Korea, Dalian has intensified efforts to expand into emerging markets such as the “Belt and Road” and “BRIC” countries. In the first half, a total of $700 million has been invested in foreign markets, an increase of 167.8 percent.

Through “bringing in” foreign capital and technology and “going out” to invest in less developed markets, Dalian is to roll out more inclusive and preferential policies for economic opening-up, making it into an international mega port city.

Machines work in Hengli Petrochemical (Changxin Island) Industrial Park in Dalian, on June 8. [Photo/IC]