Economy & Job Opportunity

2011 Jun-30

Qingdao, internationally known as the home to T Brewery and Haier, is one of the rapidest developing cities in China, ranking first in Shandong Province and tenth among China's top 20 cities in 2006. In 2006, Qingdao was ranked one of six "golden cities" according to the appraisal by World Bank, out of 120 Chinese cities assessed on factors including investment climate and government effectiveness.

High Speed

Qingdao has enjoyed tripled normal GDP from 131.6 RMB billion in 2001 to 566.62 RMB billion in 2010. Qingdao’s Pillar industries includes: electronics and telecom, information and home appliances, chemical engineering and rubber, beverage and food, automobile and shipbuilding, garment and ornaments. In 2010, Qingdao primary industry added 27.7 RMB billion, up 1.4%; second industry increased 275.5 RMB billion, up 12.6%; tertiary industry increased 263.4 RMB billion, up 14.4% relative to the previous year. Famous brands like Tsingtao, Haier, Hisense, Double star, and Aucma have contributed about 70% of the city's total industrial production value.

Qingdao’s nominal GDP per capita has increased by 3.3 times from 18, 523 RMB in 2001 to 61,750 RMB in 2010. In 2010, there is steady growth in the income of residents. Annual disposable income per capita of urban residents is 24,998 RMB, an increase of 11.8%; consumption expenditure per capita is 13,376 RMB, up 12%. Net income of rural population per capita is 7,477 RMB, an increase of 14.2%; living expenses per capita is 4,736 RMB, an increase of 12.7%.

Total investments in fixed assets of Qingdao has soared from 29 RMB billion in 2001 to 425 RMB billion in 2010, representing a remarkable growth of 13.7 times over a period of six years. In 2010, over 8,500 foreign companies have set up branches in Qingdao and there are 71 companies from the Fortune 500 that have made investments in 89 projects.

Qingdao Economic & Technical Development Zone

Qingdao Economic & Technical Development Zone, approved to establish by the State Council in October 1984, is one of China's first 14 coastal open cities enjoying special preferential policies. It lies on the western coast of Jiaozhou bay, facing the old town of Qingdao across the sea, and the nearest distance over the sea is 2.26 sea miles. The development zone was started on March 28, 1985. Its original planning area was 15 square kilometers which was extended by 5 square kilometers in 2005. In 1992, Shandong provincial government and Qingdao municipal government approved to adopt one amalgamated governing system in this development zone and in Huangdao District. In 1995, the Phoenix Island Tourist Resort was set up with the approval of Shandong Provincial Government. Qingdao has six sub-districts and has a population of more than 500,000.

In the past twenty years, the total investment in infrastructures of the development zone reaches 40 billion yuan, and the comprehensive urban function is improving. The total actually utilized foreign capital reaches 6 billion US dollars; in particular, large projects with an investment of over 10 million US dollars numbered more than 380, those with an investment of over 100 million US dollars totaled 17. More than 50 of the world top 500 companies invested in the zone. Haier, Hisense, Aucma, Sinopec, China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), SGMW, Mitsumi, POSCO, China International Marine Containers (Group) Ltd. (CIMC), Bao Steel and other well-known domestic and foreign enterprises have entered the zone, forming six industrial clusters of household electric appliances, petrochemical, port, ship-building and ship-repairing, marine petroleum engineering and automobile. In recent years, main economic indexes of the development zone have remained an annual growth rate of about 30%, ranking among one of the national fast-growing economic and technical development zones. In 2008, the total output value of the development zone reached 70.8 billion yuan, ranking first in all cities and districts of Qingdao.

The development zone pays attention to harmonious social development, and to promoting education, culture, public health, social security and other social programs to develop together with economic construction. There are eight higher learning institutions including Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao campus of China University of Petroleum and Qingdao Technological University etc. It is not only a national development zone with the largest quantity of higher learning institutions, but also an advanced culture zone of Shandong province. The development zone has successfully established ISO14000 national ecological demonstration zone and won "China Human Settlement Environment Demonstration Prize".

Along with Beijing's hosting of the 2008 Summer Olympics, Qingdao hosted the Olympic Sailing events and enjoyed an across-the-board updating of facilities in anticipating of waves of new visitors, which brought Qingdao a new economic dynamism. Qingdao made overall plans to improve its ecological environment to build the city into a green Olympic metropolis with the best sailing facilities in Asia. The 2008 Olympic sailing events was held in Fushan Bay near Tsingtao’s political, cultural and commercial center and the comprehensive sports center built there have integrated tourism, sports and entertainment. Through Olympic Games, people all over the world began to know more about this clean, dynamic and booming coastal city. Thanks to the rapidly developing and increasingly globalized economy in Tsingtao, there will be more and more job opportunities available for both local and overseas students to intern or work there.