Qingdao reviews past economic success

City takes note of enormous growth it achieved through smart investments and strategies

Qingdao in East China's Shandong province saw strong growth over the past five years in fields including economy, technology, transport and poverty alleviation, and enjoyed newfound success in the film and television industry.

"On the whole, Qingdao has fulfilled the tasks set out in the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20)," said Zhang Xudong, deputy head of the city's development and reform commission. He was speaking at a news conference held in December.

"New achievements were made over the past five years in turning the city into an open, modern, dynamic and stylish international metropolis," he added.

Manufacturing center

Official statistics show that Qingdao's GDP reached 1.24 trillion yuan ($191.42 billion) in 2020. The average annual growth rate of the city's GDP during the 13th Five-Year Plan was about 6.5 percent.

From 2016-20, six industrial clusters worth 100 billion yuan or more each took shape in Qingdao. They include the automobile sector and new-generation information technology.

Qingdao became the host of projects such as the East China production base of Sino-German joint venture FAW-Volkswagen, a car manufacturing facility of Beijing-headquartered carmaker BAIC and a pilot area for 5G video.

The city attracted 804 private equity funds over the last five years. They collectively manage more than 100 billion yuan of capital.

Local maritime industries contributed 28.7 percent of the GDP of Qingdao, a city "born from the sea", said its mayor Zhao Haozhi.

The average annual growth rate of its maritime economy stood at 13.3 percent over the last five years.

"During the 13th Five-Year Plan, we worked to make Qingdao a powerhouse of innovation on the country's east coast," said Wu Xuyong, deputy head of the Qingdao science and technology bureau.

"The city's research and development expenses over the last five years reached 29.46 billion yuan, the highest amount in Shandong," Wu said.

The number of high-tech companies in Qingdao accounted for one-third of the province's total in 2019.Qingdao-based researchers have received 43 national awards for scientific and technological achievements over the last five years.

Construction of major innovation platforms, such as the National Innovation Center of High-Speed Trains, the Center for Ocean Mega-Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is underway.

Qingdao-headquartered household appliance maker Haier Group and the Qingdao National High-Tech Industrial Development Zone were made national demonstration bases for innovation and entrepreneurship during the period.

Transport links

Qingdao has also improved its land, air and sea connections in the last five years.

The Jinan-Qingdao High-Speed Railway, Weifang-Laixi High-Speed Railway and Qingdao-Yancheng Railway began operating during the period. The total mileage of highways in the city hit 860 kilometers and that of urban rail transit reached 246 km.

The local Liuting International Airport added 46 domestic routes and 13 international ones. The newly built Jiaodong International Airport is capable of handling 35 million passengers a year.

Qingdao Port reported a cargo throughput of nearly 600 million metric tons and a container throughput of over 21 million twenty-foot equivalent units. Twenty new container shipping routes were launched during the period.

Qingdao completed its targeted poverty alleviation tasks ahead of schedule, lifting 63,887 individuals, 510 villages and 10 towns out of poverty. On the environmental protection front, the proportion of days with good air quality in urban areas increased by more than 5 percentage points compared with the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), in 2015.The average density of PM 2.5 particulate matter in urban Qingdao went down more than 20 percent.

The proportion of coastal waters in good condition reached 98.8 percent. Most of the black and foul-smelling water bodies in urban areas received treatment.

The city's tree coverage reached 14.46 percent and 70 percent of its natural wetlands were under protection.

Qingdao continues to be a top event destination domestically and internationally. High-profile events the city hosted in the last five years included the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit, the Qingdao Multinationals Summit and the Global Health Forum of Boao Forum for Asia.

Lights, camera, action

Qingdao's film industry has seen robust growth over the past five years.

In 2017, Qingdao became China's first and the world's ninth UNESCO Creative City of Film.

In 2018, the Qingdao and West Coast New Area governments, along with film project operators, launched a 5 billion yuan fund to support films and TV shows being shot in the city's Oriental Movie Metropolis. The studio complex boasts 40 world-class studios and has hosted more than 30 film and TV productions.

The fund offered subsidies of more than 52 million yuan for five films including The Great Wall, The Wandering Earth and Crazy Alien, according to Sui Bangru, deputy head of the Qingdao culture and tourism bureau.

The city also hosted industry events and festivals such as the Qingdao Film and Television Expo, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Film Festival and the China Film Society of Performing Art Awards, or the Golden Phoenix Awards.

Tourism magnet

The cruise sector is another contributor to the city's growth. A total of 349 cruise ships berthed in Qingdao over the last five years, carrying 480,000 passengers. The year 2019, in particular, saw an increase in cruise ship arrivals in Qingdao. It came at a time when 11 out of the 13 cruise ship home ports in China recorded declines.

In May 2016, Qingdao became the fourth national pilot area for cruise tourism. The World Tourism Cities Federation established a cruise organization in Qingdao in the same year. It was the first international cruise tourism organization in the country.