City Introduction of Shandong, China: Rizhao

Rizhao

Major Economic Indicators (2007)

Source: Rizhao Economic and Social Development 2007

Introduction

Rizhao is seated in the southeastern part of Shandong Province. It faces the Yellow Sea to the east, and borders Linyi to the west, Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, to the south, and Qingdao and Weifang to the north. It covers an area of 5,310 sq km. The eastern part of Rizhao enjoys a warm, humid monsoon climate, while the western part of the city has a temperate continental climate. The average temperature is about 12.5 C.

Rizhao has convenient transportation. The Ridong Highway is connected with the Beijing-Shanghai Highway, the Beijing-Fuzhou Highway and the Tongjiang-Sanya Highway. The Heze-Rizhao Railway and the Jiaozhou-Xinyi Railway go through the city, linking the city with Beijing, Zhengzhou and Jinan. In 1995, Rizhao became the eastern bridge tower of the Euro-Asian Continental Bridge. Rizhao Port, a major port in Shandong Province, has annual cargo capacity above 100 million tons. Lanshan Port Area of Rizhao Port, one of China's largest liquid petrochemical ports, has a 50,000-tonnage liquid petrochemical wharf.

The city is rich in mineral resources such as gold, silver, copper, asbestos and granite. The proven gold ore reserves in this city exceed 88,600 tons.

Economic Features

The GDP of Rizhao rose 16.8% from the previous year to RMB 62.9 billion. Rizhao is the second smallest economy in Shandong Province. The value-added output from the primary, industrial and service sectors constituted 13.7%, 50.9% and 35.4% to the city's GDP, respectively.

The industrial value-added output from heavy industry amounted to RMB 15 billion, up 44.3% year on year, while that from light industry hit RMB 8.7 billion in 2007, up 12.2% year on year. Heavy industry and the light industry contributed 63.2% and 36.8% to the city's total, respectively.

Metallurgy, equipment manufacturing, agricultural and aquatic products processing, petrochemicals and chemicals and textiles are the major industries in Rizhao. In 2007, the city produced 6.2 million tons of steel and 5.1 million tons of steel-related products, accounting for 14.1% and 10.2% of Shandong's total output of steel and steel-related products, respectively. Jinghua Rizhao Steel Group and Wuzheng Group are the two major industrial enterprises in Rizhao.

Jinghua Rizhao Steel Group was jointly set up in 2003 by Hebei-based Jinghua Innovation Group, Shandong-based Laignang Group and Hong Kong-based Cybertech International Limited. Located in Lanshan District, in 2007 the group had an annual production capacity of 7.5 million tons of steel products.

Wuzheng Group specializes in the manufacture of trucks, electric bikes, tractors and tricycles. In 2007, the total assets of this company were RMB 1.7 billion, and it generated RMB 7.2 billion in sales revenue.

Port-related industries witnessed a rapid growth in 2007. Rizhao Port handled 131 million tons of cargo, representing an increase of 18.7% year on year, while container traffic was 0.4 million TEUs, up 70.3% year on year.

The foreign trade value in Rizhao grew 47.1% year on year to US$5.8 billion in 2007. The export value reached US$2 billion, up 6.9% year on year. Exports of steel and iron, aquatic products, textile, coal and peanuts were US$57 million, US$35 million, US$14.6 million and US$11.2 million, accounting for 28.5%, 17.4%, 7.3%, 7.2% and 5.6% of the city's total export value, respectively. About 64.1% of the export value was attributable to regions and countries in Asia.

Rizhao utilized FDI of US$182 million in 2007, 34.6% more than in the previous year. Bunge Group, a leading manufacturer in agricultural products and food processing, and Evonik Degussa, a top chemical producer, have already invested in projects in the city.