Strengthen cooperation; achieve common revitalization

The 6th Mayoral Summit of the Four Northeastern Cities (4+4) was held in Dalian yesterday. The strategy for the opening and development of the Liaoning Coastal Economic Zone became the media focus for the three northeastern provinces and Inner Mongolia; Dalian became the target of the journalists. Yesterday, Mayor Li Wancai said at the press conference that the strategy of the opening and development of the Liaoning Coastal Economic Zone has created a platform for common development in the entire Northeast. As a core city of the Liaoning Coastal Economic Zone, Dalian will broaden cooperation and exchanges with outlying cities while we make ourselves bigger and stronger; together with these cities, we will promote the opening and development of the Northeast in order to achieve common revitalization and prosperity. Xu Guochen, secretary-general of the Dalian Municipal Government, attended the meeting.
One year has passed since the plan of opening and developing the Liaoning Coastal Economic Zone was approved into national strategies. What measures has Dalian taken for the implementation of the strategy? this is exactly what the journalists cared about. Four aspects should be mentioned, said Li Wancai, first, we have established a basic idea of accomplishing leap-forward development with macro-urbanization; second, we have sped up the construction of the infrastructure in order to improve the city s capacity; third, we have redoubled our efforts to recruit foreign investment; fourth, we have greatly developed industrial clusters.
Dalian has been granted a core status and leading role in the strategy. What contribution has Dalian made to regional development? asked the reporter with Harbin Daily. Li Wancai replied, In the Development Plan for the Liaoning Coastal Economic Zone, Dalian has been identified with core status and leading role and placed on assignment to enhance overall strength and to improve service functions. Liaoning Provincial Committee of the CPC and the Provincial Government required that Dalian should play the role of an engine, just like the role Shanghai plays in the Yangtze River Delta and Guangzhou in the Pearl River Delta. This is an important task which the State and Liaoning have entrusted to us. Dalian is now accelerating the construction of Three Centers, One Cluster , taking the lead in the opening of the Northeast. We are improving and perfecting the city s functions by pushing forward the construction of the International Shipping Center, the International Logistics Center and the Regional Financial Center, in order to radiate to the other cities within the Liaoning Coastal Economic Zone, to allow a deepening multi-level, multi-format, wide-ranging regional economic cooperation, and to create new regional economic integration advantages. In accomplishing the industrial cluster, we will speed up the optimization of the industrial structure and the improvement of the city's comprehensive strength; at the same time that we undertake the transfer of advanced industries from home and abroad, we will bring an echelon transfer of industry to inland cities so as to boost the free flow and reasonable allocation of production factors such as intraregional capital, technology, etc.
As for the strengthening of cooperation and exchanges among the four cities of the Northeast, Li Wancai said that, In 2004, four of us initiated the Mayoral Summit a mechanism for consultation and communication which has been playing an important role in the promotion of the revitalization of old industrial bases in the Northeast and in the pragmatic process of stepping up regional economic integration. In future, the four of us will increase our regional economic cooperation, break the barriers of administrative division, promote the integration and sharing of resources and speed up the process of economic integration in the Northeast; we will deepen our cooperation and exchanges in port industry logistics and together set up a financial service system for the Coastal Economic Zone; we must establish a transparent, convenient and standardized mechanism for the promotion of investment and co-organize activities to recruit foreign investment; we will step up regional tourism cooperation and build a free tourism zone; we will accelerate the establishment of a bonded logistics network and the construction of inland dry ports and rail container logistics centers; and build open industrial corridors, produce markets and logistics distribution centers for Opening to the South, Linking to the North ; we will improve a long-term cooperation mechanism, boost the establishment of cooperative alliances of diversified economic sectors in the Northeast; create together and share advanced production factors like technology, human resources, management and information and so on; we will try to set up in Dalian a market radiating throughout the Northeast for major production factors; we will strengthen economic cooperation with Shenyang Economic Zone, Changchun-Jilin-Tumenjiang Economic Zone and Harbin-Daqing-Qiqihar Industrial Corridor, which have rich production resources, great potential for development and broad areas of cooperation between industries; we will also increase the cooperation of compact industrial chains to enhance Dalian s competitiveness in core areas of industry in order to serve and lead the industrial development of the Northeastern hinterland.
From: Dalian Daily