Dalian goes to CIIE to woo investors

The RCEP (Dalian) International Business District held a promotional conference on Nov 6, at the National Exhibition and Convention Center, Shanghai, on the sideline of the ongoing fifth China International Import Expo that kicked off on Nov 4.

The conference introduced the RCEP (Dalian) International Business District and explained the special supporting policies of the RCEP in the Dalian Free Trade Zone.

The RCEP (Dalian) International Business District covers an area of 32,000 square meters and a construction area of 22,500 square meters, aiming to promote investment from and trade with RCEP countries.

The conference witnessed the signing of a series of project agreements in the Jinpu New Area and Dalian Free Trade Area, including Mitsubishi Electric, LS Electric, CMB Financial Leasing and others.

Dalian's export-oriented enterprises have benefited from preferential tariffs, simplified customs clearance, and the facilitation of trade and investment brought about by the RCEP agreement.

From January to September, under the RCEP agreement, the value of imported and exported goods of Dalian enterprises that enjoyed the preferential policies reached 7.1 billion yuan ($998 million). The enterprises received tax refunds of more than 65 million yuan.

In the first three quarters, the city's import and export reached 363.59 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.9 percent, four percentage points higher than the national average and 10.6 percentage points higher than that of Liaoning Province.

Among them, the foreign trade with other RCEP partner countries reached 129.39 billion yuan, an increase of 11.1 percent and accounting for 35.8 percent of the total. The actual utilization of foreign capital was $1.11 billion, a year-on-year increase of 86.36 percent. The actual utilization of investment from other RCEP partner countries in the first three quarters was $559 million, a year-on-year increase of 203.7 percent.