Yantai aims high on commerce and trade

This year Yantai will improve decision-making and speed up importation of new projects by important companies to gain significant economic and social benefits, according to a recently convened city commerce work conference.

Investment promotion is a lifeline running through the government's economic work, and plays a major role in economic upgrading. It will help to replace growth models and drivers with new ones at a faster pace.

The Yantai government will take a series of new measures to boost the growth of the city's international trade and urban economy, using business-friendly policies to attract investment.

The eastern coastal city of Yantai in Shandong province. [Photo/Jiaodong.net]

Seek investment in the city's key industries

This year Yantai has identified 12 key industries including new-energy vehicles, health care, aerospace and information technology. Specific offices will be set up to promote their development and issue related regulations and policies.

Import projects with strong leading roles

In the first quarter of this year, Yantai signed seven cooperative projects with Fortune 500 companies. The municipal government will suggest implementation modes to encourage investment from Fortune 500 companies, and will closely follow 18 more projects that are still under negotiation with 15 Fortune 500 companies, making all-out efforts to achieve cooperation.

Adopt new models and channels to attract investments

The Yantai government will exploit the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode to broaden financing and investing channels.

Set down preferential policies to lure investment

The Yantai bureau of commerce will soon issue a guidance document on improving the level of the open economy by utilizing foreign capital and improving the economy's structure and quality, throughout the 13th Five-Year Plan Period (2016-2020).

The convenient three-dimensional traffic network of Yantai. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

According to the Yantai bureau of commerce the city has developed a plan to build a processing trade transformation and upgrading demonstration base and is striving to make the plan fit into Shandong province's overall structures. The goal is to speed up replacement of old growth drivers with new ones to transform and upgrade the economy. The base will help to transform Yantai from a simple big city to a powerful one for foreign trade and win it a greater share in the province's exports and imports.