A dragon head is a metaphor people use to describe the important role Dalian plays in the opening and developing the Liaoning Coastal Economic Zone, therefore, Dalian Free Trade Zone should be taken as a dragon eye on the head , because it has a strategic importance and is at the leading edge of development both in Dalian and in Liaoning. Since the Plan for Opening and Development of the Liaoning Coastal Economic Zone has been approved into the national strategy, the area - a giant dragon has been waiting for takeoff. Meanwhile, Dalian Free Trade Zone - the dragon eye - will open and spark as well.
Dalian Free Trade Zone is located in the center of Dalian New Area, with an area of 160 square kilometers under administrative jurisdiction, consisting of five parts: Dalian Free Trade Zone, Dayaowan Bonded Harbor Area , Ershilipu Industrial Zone of Dalian Bonded Area, Export Processing Zone A and Professional Port Zone 5.
Currently, Dalian Free Trade Zone is experiencing a series of big moves:
The establishment of One Area, Two Bases : a core functional area-Dalian International Shipping Center; two industrial bases, one for oil storage, transportation, distribution, trading, clearing and products, and the other for automobile and auto parts production, sales and trading. Both are under construction.
A scientific plan for the Dalian Auto Logistics Center: they are deepening the development plan for the Dalian Auto Logistics Center in Ershilipu, building it into an ecologically integrated satellite town dominated by auto exportation, supported with bonded logistics, storage and processing and assisted by modern tourism. Their long-term goal is, within 10 years, to build an ecological and livable auto city with 30 million population, an annual production capacity of 700,000 vehicles, an output value of 1,800 billion yuan, 45 billion yuan GDP, tax revenue 10.0 billion yuan and exports of 50 billion dollars, becoming a national production base for automobiles and new energy vehicles R&D, manufacturing, sales, export and supporting parts production.
The construction of the International Energy Port: with the policy advantages of the bonded port area and the functional advantages of oil terminals, they will step up the construction of the area for oil storage ,transportation and distribution, and improve mainly the capacity of storage and distribution of major oil products in Dalian New Port, such as: crude oil, finished oil, liquid chemicals, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquid petroleum gas (LPG), building a primary Energy Shipping Center of Northeast Asia. They will push forward the construction project of the oil bonded depot for China Petroleum and complete the northern part of it this year, trying to realize the objective of investing, producing and profiting all in one year. They are also active in preparation for the southern part to ensure its construction this year. They are promoting some key construction projects: LNG and a state oil storage base, striving for a handling capacity of 100 million tons and a reserve capacity of more than 30 million cubic meters within three years, building Dalian into an international energy port which is the biggest in China and the most influential in the world, becoming a center for oil storage and transportation, trading and distribution.
A leading role for the Dalian Bonded Area. In Liaoning Provincial Government Document NO. 53 last year, both Dalian Free Trade Zone and Dalian Bonded Area were identified as the key support areas in the opening and development of the Liaoning Coastal Economic Zone. As a special economic functional area in China, which is at the highest level of openness, it has the most perfect functionality, enjoys the most preferential policies and best geographical advantages. Dalian Bonded Area will undoubtedly play a positive leading role in the opening and development of the Liaoning Coastal Economic Zone. They are working effectively in the service of Intel logistics distribution and in the innovation of Dalian Bonded Area s controlling, shaping a new image of a pilot area. They are focusing on business functions such as international trade, international transition, distribution and value-added processing, cultivating logistics formats like sea-and-railway coordinated transport, devanning and consolidation transit, cooling and refrigeration, and achieving development with shipping, ports and modern logistics in one entity. They are trying for the construction of an off-shore financial center in the bonded area and seeking effective ways and mechanisms for the joint development of Liaoning Coastal Economic Zone and Dalian Bonded Area.
New breakthroughs in attracting foreign investment: they are making great efforts to attract investment from those enterprises engaging in modern logistics, port construction, automobile and parts production, petroleum and chemical products storage and processing, high value-added port processing, and large-scale international material procurement, striving to invite more than 1,000 new enterprises to the area during the year.
Development of modern logistics: they are pushing forward the construction of the International Shipping Center, highlighting the bond features, strengthening functional advantages, developing a bigger and stronger modern logistics industry, building modern logistics industrial clusters, enlarging the scale and raising the level of modern logistic operations, opening up the logistics industry, cultivating a group of large-scale and professional logistics enterprises with core competitiveness. With the assist of Dalian Customs and other port authorities in Dalian, they are attracting and inviting headquarters, distribution centers andbalance centers of the shipping enterprises well-known for their ship and freight forwarding and their auxiliaries to settle in Dalian to set up a new Dalian Port and Shipping Logistics Business Centre.
