Rizhao Economic and Technological Development Area

Rizhao Economic and Technological Development Area [Photo/reda.gov.cn]

Rizhao Economic and Technological Development Area in Shandong province, established in 1991, was upgraded to a national-level zone under the approval of the State Council in April 2010. It has a planning area of 116 square kilometers, with a permanent resident population of 120,000.

The development zone faces the Yellow Sea in the east and is located at the junction of China's eastern coast economic belt and the new Eurasian Land Bridge. It enjoys convenient transport, with three railways, three expressways, two national highways, and 10 provincial highways passing through. It is also adjacent to the Rizhao Port, and is only 15 minute drive to Rizhao Shanzihe Airport.

After more than 20 years' of development, the zone has cultivated three leading industries: automobile and parts, pulp paper and printing and packaging, and cereal and oil food processing, and is committed to developing the emerging industries of biological medicine, high-end equipment manufacturing, and modern services.

By now, it has been home to 82 industrial enterprises above designated enterprises, with an annual production capacity of one million engines, 1.2 million automatic gearboxes, 920 automobile moulds, 250,000 axles, and 2.4 million tons of sugar. It has the world's largest sugar processing enterprise while the biggest overseas engine production base of South Korea's Hyundai Motor Group also settles in the zone.

In the first half of 2018, the total output value of industrial enterprises above designated size reached 27.96 billion yuan ($4.05 billion), a year-on-year increase of 14.5 percent. Its added value totaled 6.37 billion yuan, with a yearly growth rate of 9 percent.

The fixed-asset investment was 9.32 billion yuan, increasing by 8 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. The general public budget revenue amounted to 1.47 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 10.1 percent and accounting for 84.5 percent of the zone's tax revenue.