Qingdao takes the initiative to boost nationwide cooperation

Coastal city of Shandong province holds seminar among areas that share links to Yellow River

Qingdao, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province, has taken the lead in promoting intercity cooperation among areas along the Yellow River and member cities of the Jiaodong Economic Circle, as part of its efforts to stimulate domestic demand and explore new room for China's economic growth.

The 2020 Qingdao Land-Sea Linkage Seminar was held on Aug 8 and invited nine capital cities along the Yellow River－Xining in Qinghai province, Chengdu in Sichuan province, Lanzhou in Gansu province, Yinchuan in Ningxia Hui autonomous region, Hohhot in Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Xi'an in Shaanxi province, Taiyuan in Shanxi province, Zhengzhou in Henan province and Jinan in Shandong province－and the five member cities of the Jiaodong Economic Circle: Qingdao, Yantai, Weifang, Weihai and Rizhao.

The seminar brought the cities together to conduct in-depth exchanges and discussions on strengthening economic cooperation between the western and eastern parts of China.

Originating from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the east coast of China, the Yellow River winds more than 5,000 kilometers and spans the eastern and western parts of northern China. It coincides with the domestic section of the Silk Road Economic Belt.

The Yellow River basin is believed by insiders to have a strong geo-economic value, especially as China greatly values domestic economic development.

The crucial cities along the Yellow River have gathered in Qingdao, signifying openness and cooperation while also injecting strong momentum into the common development among domestic cities, insiders said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously hampered the global economy. But trade protectionism aggravates the reverse of globalization, which challenges the structure of the global economy.

"The more difficult the times, the more valuable cooperation becomes," said an official from Qingdao.

Shandong is the only coastal province among the nine provinces in the Yellow River basin, and Qingdao is the bridgehead of Shandong's opening-up to the world. The city plays a vital role in the integrated development between land and sea and intercity cooperation, according to the local government.

"As one of China's first coastal cities to open to the rest of world and an international port city, Qingdao plays a role as a pivotal point in the New Eurasian Land Bridge economic corridor as well as maritime cooperation," said Zhang Shenfeng, vice-chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade at the event on Aug 8 in Qingdao.

Jiang Mingbao, chief engineer at the Ministry of Transport, said: "Shandong is a province strong in economy, especially in maritime economy, and it is crucial in promoting land-sea cooperation and internal and external communication.

"The 2020 Qingdao Land-Sea Linkage Seminar will certainly exert positive influence on the regional economic and social development and the global port and shipping industry."

At the seminar, a land-sea linkage cooperation initiative was launched by the 14 cities in question. Involving Shandong Port Group, Qingdao Customs, Jinan Customs and Shanghai Futures Exchange, the platform aimed to bridge cooperation between the Yellow River basin and the Jiaodong Economic Circle.

Zou Zhiwu, vice-minister of the General Administration of Customs, said at the seminar that the total value of foreign trade in nine provinces along the Yellow River basin has been growing rapidly in recent years. It demonstrates the region's great potential of developing an export-oriented economy.

Shandong has the capability of promoting mutual economic development between the eastern and western parts of China, and the land-sea integrated development. The province is a region of strong strategic emerging industries and advanced manufacturing industries in the Yellow River basin, Zou added.

Statistics show the volume of foreign trade in the Yellow River basin rose from 1.7 trillion yuan ($245.09 billion) in 2010 to 3.3 trillion yuan in 2019, with an annual growth rate of 7.6 percent. That rate is 2.5 percentage points higher than the national average for the same period.

In the first seven months of this year, the region's growth rate of foreign trade was 5.3 percentage points higher than the national average.