Blue Development for Qingdao's Chinese Dream

By Gao Xin



Blue Development for Qingdao's Chinese Dream

By Gao Xin

“Qingdao should take the lead in building a moderately prosperous society at a high level， march towards fundamentally achieving the goal of modernization， and write a new chapter of the Chinese Dream for Qingdao.”

The above is a quotation from Qingdao Municipal Government's suggestions to the proposal of the CPC Central Committee for the 13th Five-Year Plan on economic and social development， setting developmental goals for Qingdao in 2016-2020.

Blue Development in Qingdao

If one wanted to use a color to describe Qingdao's development over the past five years， it would have to be blue.

Adjacent to the Yellow Sea， Qingdao took on ocean industries as its leading strategy to develop during the 12th Five-Year Plan（2011-2015）， encouraging its urban economy to make the switch to intensive growth industries， and turning away from simply seeking large-scale， blanket development projects. Qingdao improved its work focused on meeting international standards for manufacturing， highlighted its features withlocal advantages， and promoted economic diversification to ensure steady growth，adjust economic and social structures， facilitate reform and improve the livelihood of its citizens. These efforts have left Qingdao riding a strong wave of momentum heading into the next five years， setting the city up for comprehensive economic and social development.

A bird's eye view of Qingdao

Starting with investment in large infrastructure products， Qingdao has pressed its industries to continuously upgrade their scale and implement an array of projects ranging from over 1 billion yuan （$153 million） to 10 billion yuan （$1.5 billion）， including the FAW-VW production base in East China， the Jiaodong International Airport， the Dongjiakou Port （a home port for various cruise ships）， the Oriental Movie Metropolis in Lingshan Bay （a movie culture base that has attracted numerous global investors）. Other projects include an HP big data base，the World Expo City， the Qingdao Campus of Shandong University， an international aquatic product trade center， etc.

These projects and their supporting industry chains worth over 100 billion yuan（$15.5 billion） continue to make significant breakthroughs in auto manufacturing and big data. By doing so， industrial transformation and upgrading are able to enter a new age.

Meanwhile， Qingdao is a major nodal city on the New Eurasian Land Bridge Economic Corridor under the Belt and Road Initiative and a strategic fulcrum of maritime cooperation. the West Coast Economic New District is being expanded as the ninth national-level new district. Qingdao Wealth Management Financial Comprehensive Reform Pilot Area has also been approved. The Blue Silicon Valley gained approval to function as the national industrial demonstration base for ocean development. The Sino-German Eco-Park has become an important international platform for economic and ecological cooperation between the two countries. All these developments show the breakthrough made by Qingdao in implementing national development strategies.

The Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology， the only one of its kind in the maritime field at the national level， has been completed. Research institutes such as the National Deep Sea Center （NDSC） have been built in Qingdao，greatly promoting maritime economic development and environmental protection in China. Maritime science and technology as well as the maritime industry have enjoyed rapid development. The maritime economy now accounts for over 20 percent Qingdao's total economic output， in itself manifesting a new breakthrough in Qingdao's blue development.

With regard to the rebuilding of the old city， Qingdao has relocated or shut down 94 enterprises in the area， effectively eliminating outdated industrial operations. As a result， the city's economy has been able to accomplish a significant transformation and implement various upgrades. the industrial structure has been improved alongside general urban economic prosperity.

Qingdao attaches great importance to innovation. The atmosphere for entrepreneurship and innovation has been boosted. A number of world-leading or domestically advanced platforms for innovation and major research facilities have been built or improved. More and more technical elites at home and abroad choose Qingdao to engage in their innovative undertakings.

To promote the wellbeing of its residents，Qingdao continues to work on improvements to public services. the social security and public service system covering urban and rural areas in a coordinated way has been fully established， and the level of basic public services has been improved regularly.Qingdao has taken the lead in efforts to integrate public services relating to employment，elderly care and medical insurance in rural and urban areas， improving people's lives.

Over the past five years， Qingdao has been full of vigor and vitality， attracting the attention of the rest of China and much of the world. It has been rated as one of China's best performing sub-provincial cities in terms of GDP growth， been labeled a national civilized city as well as one of China's top cities in terms of general well-being. In addition， it is now known as one of the top 10 best cities in the country for innovation.

Nowadays， Qingdao is driven by the construction of the West Coast Economic New District （national level）， the North High-Tech New District， as well as the East Blue Silicon Valley. Underpinned by an array of major sea-land-air transport infrastructure projects， it is taking the shape of an urban area suitable for advanced living and innovation.

New Blueprint for Qingdao

The efforts made in the 12th Five-Year Plan laid a solid foundation for Qingdao to be a modern and livable international city. The next five years will present further opportunity for Qingdao to take advantage of vital strategic opportunities.

Li Qun， Secretary of CPC Qingdao Municipal Committee， stressed in the city's suggestions for the 13th Five-Year Plan that Qingdao must highlight innovative，coordinated， green， open and inclusive development to fulfill its goals in the most accurate， innovative and consistent way. Qingdao needs to find the balance between science and technology innovation and comprehensive innovation for its full development. It needs to draw on its strengths and remedy shortcomings for coordinated development. It needs to give equal importance to the economy and the environment， and work to boost green development. It needs to be engaged both in “bringing in” and “going global” to get fully involved in the Belt and Road Initiative for opening up. And it needs to let common people share the fruits of development.

In the guiding principles of the 13th Five-Year Plan， Qingdao insists that global foresight， international criteria and local advantages should occupy a prominent position. Qingdao， a coastal city open to the outside world， should grasp global opportunities with a broad vision， take the lead with higher standards， and promote urban characteristics to ensure it develops in a steady way.

Qingdao will accelerate the pace of building itself into a domestically important city in the Internet industry as well as intelligent manufacturing， and establish itself as a major innovation center in the coastal area in the East， a key regional service center in China and a world-leading maritime development center. this is a move to give full play to the role of a strategic node and fulcrum along the Belt and Road， and establish a shipping hub in Northeast Asia. In other words， Qingdao should build itself into a regional economic center with international influence.

The Belt and Road Initiative is important for Qingdao to fully interact with the world Qingdao is expected to actively implement the Belt and Road Initiative as a key breakthrough point for opening up， which will create new impetus， add more energy， explore a broader space and widen the circle along the Belt and Road.

The maritime economy represents outstanding local advantages and the most distinctive urban characteristics of Qingdao. In recent years， Qingdao has channeled great energy into blue development. the maritime economy has made new breakthroughs and become a significant engine of economic growth， as well as industrial restructuring and upgrading.

“Building Qingdao into a key fulcrum for the strategy of a becoming a strong maritime country reflects our due responsibility and commitment for the future development of our country，”Li said. “Meanwhile， it imposes higher goals and requirements in terms of maritime resources， human resources and science and technology. Qingdao's suggestion for the Proposal highlights new advantages in the maritime economy， the implementation of ‘ocean+' action and the building of a strong maritime city during the 13th Five-Year Plan. This can fully manifest the urban characteristics and magnify our advantages and strengths. In this way， Qingdao will gain comparative superiority in serious homogeneous urban competition， and take the initiative in developing the maritime economy.”

From innovation-driven transformation to upgrading the overall urban strength through coordinated development， as well as improving the environment through green development， while also building new competitive advantages， Qingdao looks set to flourish during the next five years. Its succinct planning and efforts in opening up are set to improve people's wellbeing through mutual benefit.

Qingdao is creating a vivid development plan for the coming five years， and taking a number of detailed measures to ensure bright prospects for each task of innovative，coordinated， green， open and inclusive development. the blueprint of Qingdao's future is being unfolded. through two-way opening up. As the first trading port open to the outside world in China's contemporary history， Qingdao has grown from a little village on the Maritime Silk Road in the Tang and Song Dynasties（618-1279） into today's coastal metropolis，thanks to its time-honored history of trade and opening up. In recent years， while giving full play to local advantages， it has implemented an international urban strategy， and followed the policies of “bringing in” and“going global” at a high level. In particular， it is regarded as a major nodal city on the New Eurasian Land Bridge Economic Corridor and the strategic fulcrum for maritime cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. That helps provide the new opportunities that would have been hard to obtain by itself for its opening up and development. the Belt and Road Initiative has become an important carrier and broad platform for its opening up.

Thus， during the 13th Five-Year Plan，