Dalian reaches highs as Party celebrates centennial

Vital logistics hub in Liaoning province continues to seek revitalization in new era

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, Dalian, a vital logistics hub city in the coastal economic belt of Liaoning province, has strived to optimize its industrial structure and boost economic and social development with the goal of revitalization in the new era.

In 2020, Dalian's regional GDP reached 703.04 billion yuan ($108.66 billion), and revenue for the general public budget totaled 70.27 billion yuan.

In the first quarter of this year, GDP surpassed 170 billion yuan, an average growth of 4.1 percent in two years. Dalian won the title of National Civilized City for the sixth consecutive year.

Dalian focuses on innovation as a core position of its overall revitalization and development, and it empowers industrial restructuring with its technological innovation.

The equipment manufacturing industry is experiencing a digital, intelligent, and high-end transformation.

And emerging industries such as new energy vehicles, the hydrogen energy industry, integrated circuits and artificial intelligence have gradually achieved cluster development.

Since 2017, the added value of the city's high-tech industry has grown at an average annual rate of 37.8 percent, and its share in the added value of industries above designated scale has increased from 17.3 percent to 22.2 percent.

Dalian aims to create a new highland for opening-up and multifield cooperation in Northeast Asia.

It focuses on geographic advantages, especially the markets of Japan and South Korea, and speeding up the construction of a higher-level open economic system.

From 2017 to 2020, Dalian's foreign trade totaled 1.7 trillion yuan, and its share in the province has been around 60 percent.

The Dalian Area of the China (Liaoning) Pilot Free Trade Zone has launched more than 320 institutional innovations.

Three innovation measures including supervision have been selected as the State Council's reform pilot experiences.

The system innovation index ranks 11th among the 43 areas of free trade zones in the country, and the trade facilitation index ranks fifth.

Dalian is adhering to green and low-carbon development to blaze a path of integrated development of industrial ecologicalization and industrialization.

Dalian has had more than 300 days of good air quality each year for four consecutive years. Guided by the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, the city has launched action plans for peaking carbon emissions, established a special fund of 1 billion yuan for hydrogen energy, promoted demonstration projects for comprehensive utilization of hydrogen energy, and accelerated non-fossil energy projects such as Hongyanhe nuclear power in Wafangdian and offshore wind power in the Zhuanghe sea area. It also implemented the ultra-low emission transformation of existing coal-fired thermal power units, and greatly reduced the city's unit GDP energy consumption.

High-quality development

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), Dalian has achieved remarkable results in economic and social development.

It ranked 17th in the "2019-20 China City Comprehensive Strength List" released by the China Urban Research Institute, which has laid a solid foundation for high-quality development during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).

The next five years will be a critical period for Dalian to promote comprehensive and all-around revitalization.

The Dalian Party committee issued the 14th Five-Year Plan and 2035 long-term goals recommendations to implement the spirit of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in October 2020. It will speed up the construction of Northeast Asia's technology innovation and entrepreneurship venture capital center.

At the same time, Dalian will insist on coordinating land and sea development, and expand the marine economy.

The city will improve the quality of natural environment, promote a comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development and build a home where the mountains and the sea are harmonious, civilized and beautiful, and ecologically livable.

The city will also advance reforms in key areas such as market-oriented economy, "decentralization, management and service," State-owned assets and enterprises, and improve the level of marketization, rule of law and international business environment based on Dalian's location advantages.

Dalian will accelerate the innovation and development of the free trade zone, strengthen cooperation with countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, and better integrate into the new development pattern. Dalian aims to continue increasing its investment in people's livelihoods in such sectors as employment, education, medical care, housing and social security, improve public services and social governance capabilities, and maintain social fairness and justice.

History

Looking back on the 100-year journey of the Communist Party of China, Dalian has left a special mark on the glorious and magnificent course.

After the outbreak of the May Fourth Movement of 1919, the intellectuals in Dalian publicized Marxism.

The communists in Dalian opened up a hidden front and organized the local people to persist in the struggle against Japan after the September 18 Incident in 1931.

After the liberation of Dalian in 1945, the Dalian committee of the Communist Party of China established and created a special liberated area to break through the Kuomintang's blockade, stabilize people's livelihoods, resume production, establish an important front base and military production base, and make special contributions to the cause of national liberation.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, under the leadership of the Party, the people of Dalian participated in the socialist revolution and construction.

It made all-out efforts to produce military supplies and donated money and formed a fleet of the volunteer air force.

The city also participated in the construction of key national projects. Dalian has produced China's first 10,000-ton-class ocean freighter, the first offshore oil drilling platform, and the first high-power diesel locomotive.

These major power equipment pieces are all engraved with the Dalian label.

Since the reform and opening-up in the late 1970s, under the leadership of the party, the people of Dalian have emancipated their minds to explore and innovate, speeding up the transformation from a planned economic system to one that highlights market rules.