Dalian is looking to expand its foreign trade with a focus on neighboring international markets as it aims to become a city with a CNY 1 trillion annual gross domestic product (GDP). The coastal port city in Liaoning province has long been a vital economic center in Northeast China, and last year its GDP reached CNY951.69 billion. Located at the northern side of the Bohai Strait, Dalian plans to cultivate new foreign trade opportunities by strengthening cooperation with nearby Japan and South Korea, and economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), said Li Hanguo, Director of the Dalian Municipal Bureau of Commerce. “We will promote innovative growth of trade in services and accelerate the building of comprehensive pilot zones of cross-border e-commerce in Dalian,” said Li. He added that the city will also focus on optimizing the structure of foreign investment, including promoting investment of foreign capital in emerging industries such as advanced equipment manufacturing, the digital economy, and health and medical care. As the largest port in Northeast China, Dalian serves as a trade gateway to the Pacific. It has been actively integrating itself into the development of the BRI, and helped optimize the route's layout.
Currently, Dalian Port operates 106 container ship routes, including 93 foreign trade routes, covering more than 300 ports in over 160 countries and regions worldwide. In the first half of this year, Dalian Port launched four new foreign trade routes, connecting it with important ports in countries including the United Kingdom, Germany and Egypt. “They mainly export and import goods such as chemicals, minerals, mechanical and electrical equipment, automobiles and accessories, as well as agricultural products and food,” said Zhou Jinlu, Deputy Manager of the Marketing Department of the Dalian Container Terminal Co of the Liaoning Port Group. In particular, exports of high value-added products such as complete vehicles, spare parts, and mechanical equipment from Dalian to India have continued to grow. In the first six months of the year, the total export and import volume of goods between Dalian and South Asia jumped nearly 80% year-on-year, according to Dalian Port. Trade with Russia remains stable, with growth in the number of temporary voyages from Dalian to cities such as St. Petersburg. From January to June, the total export and import volume of goods between Dalian and Russia grew by nearly 50% year-on-year, Dalian Port said.
In the first five months of this year, Dalian’s import and export trade achieved a trade surplus for the first time in nearly a decade. The total foreign trade value reached CNY191.98 billion, up 5% year-on-year. The export value amounted to CNY97.54 billion, and the import value came in at CNY94.44 billion, according to Dalian Customs. Mechanical and electrical products, as well as petrochemical products, have also been driving strong export growth. Over the same period, the export of ships built in Dalian reached CNY9.83 billion, jumping 58.7% year-on-year, and accounting for 10.1% of Dalian’s total export value of foreign trade. The growth in exports to member states of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as well as the economies involved in the BRI is reflected in the significant growth of exports to Malaysia, especially the export of crude oil, Dalian Customs said. In the first five months, Dalian maintained a strong growth momentum in its import and export trade with Malaysia, reaching CNY21.87 billion, a year-on-year increase of 27.5%. The RCEP, which came into effect in 2022, is the world’s largest free trade deal, encompassing the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), plus China, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
Dalian, with the longest coastline on the Chinese mainland at 2,211 kilometers, is also strengthening as a tourism hub. This year, voyage bookings on Adora Mediterranea, a cruise ship operated by Chinese cruise line Adora Cruises, have been in high demand in Dalian, according to the operator and travel agencies. The popularity of voyages has been a shot in the arm for the recovery and growth of the cruise tourism market in Dalian and Northeast China, Dalian Port said. Liaoning Port Group, the parent company of Dalian Port, has continued to renovate the berth and international waiting halls of Dalian Port, and launched services such as foreign currency exchange and sales of duty-free goods to enhance its ability to receive international cruise ships and passengers. “Fueled by China’s policies such as unilateral visa-free entry and visa-free transit for foreign tourists, we firmly believe that the number of cruise ships and tourists visiting Dalian will significantly grow in the future,” said Wang Bo, Assistant to the General Manager of Dalian Port’s passenger transport branch. This year, the city is expected to welcome 15 international cruise ship visits. In the first six months of this year, Dalian International Airport saw more than 89,000 passenger trips by inbound foreign visitors, up 53.4% year-on-year, the China Daily reports.
