Qingdao pushes for new stage of growth

Qingdao will roll out a number of measures to further implement its opening-up, and hopefully usher in a new stage of growth, officials said.

It will bolster its position as a leading harbor city in East China, and play a bigger role in connecting market resources, boosting exports and promoting international cooperation, according to Wang Qingxian, Party secretary of Qingdao.

Qingdao is not only a modern city on China's east coast, but also a city with strong economic, technological and industrial strength, Wang said.

As a gateway to the Yellow River Basin, Qingdao is an important platform from which to boost economic development and trade between the eastern and the western regions around the basin, connecting land and river areas.

From a global perspective, Qingdao is a key transportation hub for China for developing foreign trade with South Korea and Japan and the other countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

According to China's central government, Qingdao should strengthen new cooperative tools centering on the BRI and find its core competitiveness, giving full play to its leading role in Shandong province's opening-up strategy.

Qingdao stands in a vital position to elevate opening-up both inside and outside China.

It helps to connect north and south, and east and west regions within China, Wang said.

In order to give full play to its strengths, the city government is backing the research of forward-looking technologies, fostering new industries and building up new infrastructure in its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

Through a number of infrastructure construction projects aimed at improving urban quality of life and realizing rural revitalization, services such as transportation, energy and water supply, environmental protection and public health will be focused on for improvement.

The city has mapped out a number of measures to boost its internet industry, including more steps to integrate industrial foundation, utilize venture capital, and create application scenarios, so as to cultivate a relatively complete industrial cluster, and play a proactive role in global competition.

The government reiterated its support for developing industries such as new energy, new materials, new energy vehicles, high-end equipment and maritime economy. This will be done by gathering related resources and exploring innovative business models, officials said.

Efforts will also be made to boost entrepreneurship by attracting human resources, finance and materials by means of market-oriented tools such as talent introduction, training and competitions.

To strengthen the modern service industry, Qingdao will use the resources of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong in light of finance, trade, shipping, culture, science and technology in polishing the city's strengths in these areas.