City Introduction of Zhejiang, China: Lishui

Lishui

Major Economic indicators (2007)

Source: Lishui Economic and Social Development Report 2007

Introduction

Lishui, whose name means “beautiful water” in Chinese, lies in the southwestern part of Zhejiang Province. Situated on the intersection point of Zhejiang Province and Fujian Province, the city is adjacent to Wenzhou to the southeast, Ningde and Nanping to the southwest, Quzhou to the northwest, Jinhua to the north and Taizhou to the northeast.

It is 126 km from Wenzhou, 122 km from Jinhua, 292 km from Hangzhou and 512 km from Shanghai. It is a transport hub in Zhejiang Province. The Jinhua-Wenzhou Railway, the Jinhua-Wenzhou Highway, the Longli Highway and the Lihua Highway run across the city. It takes merely 1 hour to travel from the city center to the Wenzhou Airport or Yiwu Airport, 2.5 hours to the Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport, and 4.5 hours to the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, the second largest port in China by cargo turnover in 2007, is within 2.5 hours’ drive.

There are over 3,800 species of plants and 57 kinds of mineral resources in Lishui. The phrophyllite reserve in Lishui accounts for one third of China’s total. The Suicang gold mine is the largest gold mine in Zhejiang.

Economic Features

Lishui is the second smallest economy in Zhejiang in terms of GDP in 2007. The city’s GDP reached RMB 42.6 billion in 2007, representing an increase of 15.6% over the previous year. The value-added output from the agriculture, industry and service sectors made up 11.7%, 47.5% and 40.8% of the city’s GDP, respectively.

The value-added industrial output in the city amounted to RMB 16.7 billion in 2007, with a rise of 24.1% year on year. Light industry and heavy industry contributed 28.2% and 71.8% of the city’s total value-added industrial output.

Metal mining and dressing, chemicals and petrochemicals, machinery, tools and office equipment manufacturing, and electricity production and supply are the major heavy industries in Lishui, while textiles is the major light industry in the city. The leading firms in the city include Nice Group, Zhejiang Qingshan Steel and Iron, and King Dragon Group.

Nice Group, the former Lishui No. 57 Chemical Plant, was set up in 1968. Specializing in the manufacture of hygiene products, it is a leading soap and washing power producer in China. It is capable of producing 1 million tons of washing powder, 0.3 million tons of detergent and 250 million tubes of toothpaste annually. The most well-known brands of the group are “NICE” and “DIAO”. Zhejiang Qingshan Steel and Iron, set up in 2002, is a private steel maker. Its output value exceeded RMB 3 billion in 2007.

The value-added output from the service sector reached RMB 17.3 billion in 2007, up 14.7% year on year. Its growth pace is slower than that of the industrial sector. Lishui has an active consumer market whose sales grew 16.1% to RMB 16.9 billion in 2007.

The city’s foreign trade value totaled US$842.8 million in 2007, up 48.2% year on year, and the export value rose 36.8% to US$748.8 million. Exports of machinery, arts and crafts, and textiles amounted to US$705.2 million, 94.2% of the city’s total export value. Major importers include the E.U., the U.S., the ASEAN, Japan, and Hong Kong.

In 2007, Lishui attracted US$92.1 million in FDI, a rise of 38.3% from a year earlier, while the utilized FDI in the city hit US$22.3 million, up 15.9% year on year. U.S.-based Wal-Mart opened its first supermarket in Lishui in 2008.