The Lianyungang government is working to attract more domestic and overseas capitals to transform the northernmost city in East China's Jiangsu Province, into an economically developed port city, officials said.
Lianyungang, one of the 14 coastal cities designated by the central government in 1984 to open up to the outside world, has made great strides in its economic development and takes the lead in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) in the northern part of the province.
Statistics show, in the past five years, its GDP grew at an annual rate of 11.9 percent, much higher than that of the other cities in the area.
Credit goes to the use of overseas capital, large-scale infrastructure construction and improvement of investment environment, said Chen Zhenning, the city's Party secretary.
Located in the province's northern tip, the city looks across the East China Sea to Japan and the Republic of Korea.
This geographic location is conducive to developing trade ties with the two countries.
Japanese and Korean enterprises now make up a large proportion of the total foreign investment in the city, especially in textiles, medicine and food industries.
The city has conducted business transactions with 85 countries and regions involved in more than 2,000 joint ventures and cooperative projects.
Overseas investors have flocked to the city largely for its convenient transportation network.
"The city government has, from the very beginning, realized the importance of a solid investment environment and infrastructure construction in luring investment," Chen said.
After many years of work, the city developed modern air, road and rail systems leading to all parts of the country.
"The construction of this network has increased the flow of capital into the city because investors are now more confident that they can make a profit," Chen said.
The highway is particularly important because it extends to the west, an area China is trying hard to develop.
"We are aiming to make use of the opportunity to advance the economy of our city while doing our bit to help the western regions," Chen said.
The newly completed road extending west from Lianyungang to the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region plays a vital role.
"These provinces and autonomous regions have abundant natural resources that could not be easily shipped out before," Chen said. "Now with the opening of this road, they can benefit a lot from it."
(China Daily December 27, 2001)
