Ｏｐｐｏｒｔｕｎｉｔｙ Ｋｎｏｃｋｓ

ＬＵ　ＲＵＣＡＩ

THE development and construction of the Yellow River Delta has become a topic of intense discussion for the central government. In March 2009, a group of nearly 80 officials from 25 ministries and commissions, led by Vice Minister Du Ying of the State Development and Reform Commission, made an investigatory trip to Dongying, Weifang and Binzhou in Shandong Province regarding the planning and construction of the Yellow River Delta Economic Zone.

“The State Council has agreed to increase financial and policy support to the area after it works out a development plan,” assures Duan Lihong, deputy inspector of the Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission.

Demarcation

The Pearl and Yangtze deltas have made a big splash across the country, and even the world, as the economic powerhouses of China, whereas the Yellow River Delta – of no less geographical importance – crouches in comparative obscurity.

“The economic-geographical conception of the area has kept changing,” explains Yang Yuzhen, director of the Yellow River Delta Protection and Development Research Center. Geographically, the delta refers to the alluvial plain that the Yellow River leaves behind when emptying into the sea, but the area as an economic entity has evolved over time. In 1983, when Dongying was established as a city, the delta and the city were identical. Today, the “delta” refers to a much larger area that includes Dongying, Binzhou and areas beyond.

As conceptualized by the provincial plan, the Yellow River Delta Economic Zone incorporates the alluvial plain, the northern coastal areas of Shandong, and their peripheries. Dongying and Binzhou are right in the zone, while Weifang, Dezhou, Zibo and Yantai straddle it. The zone covers a territory of 26,500 square kilometers, roughly one-sixth of the provincial total, and has a population of 10 million.

“The belated exploration of the Yellow River Deltas economic potential is due to the capriciousness of the river mouth,” according to Yang Yuzhen. Efforts to harness the river span many decades, but only over the last 30 years can we venture to say its course has finally “stabilized.” And there lies the basis for renewed interest in developing the delta.

A Plan of Its Own

Yang Yuzhen admits that the Yellow River Delta is in no position to challenge its two bigger brothers in terms of geographical size and development scale. But, “With the support of the central government, it will be fast out of the gate.”

In April 2008, the Shandong provincial government outlined the efficiency and ecology-focused economic zone development plan and related policies, defining clearly its dual mission: first, “to take advantage of the opportunity that arises from the development of Tianjins Binhai New Area, and to target the Bohai-Rim Economic Zone and Northeast Asia,” and second, “to pivot on the conurbations of the Shandong Peninsula and around the provincial capital Jinan, in support of the sustainable development of the province.” To fulfill this mandate, the provincial government has earmarked a five-year input of RMB 1.5 trillion, accounting for 20 percent of the total budget for provincial investment for the same period. “I hope the central government will favor us with the same level of preferential policies as those extended to Tianjins Binhai New Area,” comments Duan Lihong.

Meanwhile, Dongying has its own plans to invest RMB 110 billion for the development of the delta in 2009, according to Mayor Zhang Jianhua. The money will mainly go into petrochemical, petroleum equipment manufacture, and modern fishery and animal husbandry sectors. He elaborates, “The vision for the delta is to forge a modern industrial system that will sustain a high-efficiency, ecologically responsible economy.” Low-end and polluting projects, or those that cannot meet the states industrial restrictions, will be rejected. Such grounds for exclusion distinguish the Yellow River Delta management from the early development modes of the Yangtze and Pearl deltas.

Two watchwords for the development of the Yellow River Delta have won the approval and support of the central government. Du Ying emphasizes the close coordination of development and protection for the delta, positioning it as “a model and mirror for the development of other areas that have similar resource environments.”

Situational Advantage

Li Guangjie believes the delta has great potential in terms of resources. The development of the delta has provided new research territory for this deputy director of the Economic Research Institute at the Shandong Provincial Academy of Social Sciences. “More than 500,000 hectares of land await development, an incredible figure for land resource-deficient China. In addition, the area has Chinas second largest oilfield and largest salt field.”

An opportunity has finally come this way for the industrial upgrading of the delta. The better developed Jiaodong Peninsula, centered around Qingdao, has been forced into a period of industrial transfer by its dense population, industrial saturation, and lack of water and land resources. The Yellow River Delta has all the necessary conditions to take over, namely cheaper production costs and idle resources.

Port development will also add to the deltas enticements. “Size and scale dominate the nature of progress in the middle and late stages of industrialization, and port capacities become increasingly important. Thats why the delta has chosen to emphasize coastal access,” says Li Guangjie. Currently, the deltas Laizhou Harbor has an annual handling capacity of 12 million tons, while that of Weifang Harbor exceeds 10 million tons. Dongying and Binzhou are accelerating their port construction.

When talking about drag factors in delta development, Li Weiguo, deputy director of the Dongying Harbor Economic Development Zone Administrative Committee, cites the lack of large harbors along the 1,000-km coastline of northern Shandong as one. Dongying has completed and put into operation two 30,000-ton wharves, and is planning the construction of two 50,000-ton wharves.

In 2008, the Yellow River Deltas GDP reached RMB 475.58 billion, and according to Duan Lihong, the provincial 2015 GDP target for the area is RMB one trillion. Realizing that goal will not only need governmental support, but also the efforts of planners and enterprises in the delta itself. In June 2009, the mayor of Dongying led a tour of officials from the municipal Investment Invitation Bureau and the Dongying Harbor Economic Development Zone to Zhejiangs Hangzhou and other places, with the objective of luring investors to this emerging golden zone.