Large container vessels crowded together in the automated terminal of Qingdao Port, Shandong Port Group on January 1, 2021.  By Fu Xuejun

According to the recently released Qingdao’s 14th five-year plan proposal, in the following five years since this year, Qingdao will continuously amplify the advantage of opening up at a higher level and strive to enhance the global resources allocation capacity by integrating deeply and co-constructing the Belt and Road. 

Set up high-level platforms for opening-up. Keep improving functions of five centers in the SCO Demonstration Zone, take the lead to make breakthroughs in key fields including modern trade and digital innovation, establish the SCO local bank and Northern China international oil and gas transaction center. Promote the pioneering role of the Qingdao Area of China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone in terms of trade, investment, cross-border cash flow, entrance and exit facilitation and liberalization, build the international staple commodities transaction center, the important hub for international supply chains, the life science innovation base and the demonstration area for high-quality development of intelligent manufacturing. 

Construct a large interconnected channel. Build the world-class ocean port, establish the linkage mechanism with foreign ports of Japan and South Korea etc., smooth out the “expressway on the sea” among China, Japan and South Korea. Enhance the hub role of Jiaodong International Airport as an international gateway. Open new or increase the frequency of domestic and overseas passenger and cargo routes and build the airport into an important international transfer site. Smooth out the east-west mutual aid land-sea channel, strengthen the China Railway Express Qingdao Collection Center, deepen the pilot project of sea-railway combined transport transit consolidation, build the multimodal transport organization center into a domestically important landing site for worldwide commodities. Deepen the reform of one-bill coverage system for international multimodal transport, advance electronization in the whole process of customs clearance and logistics service and establish the pan-Asia and pan-Europe customs clearance mechanism for multimodal transport. 

Deepen exchanges and cooperation with key regions. Strengthen local economic cooperation with the SCO member states, countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and RCEP member states, speed up the construction of the RCEP Qingdao Economic Cooperation Pioneering Innovation Base. Build Qingdao into an demonstration city for local economic cooperation among China, Japan and South Korea, establish a high-level financial opening-up and cooperation mechanism targeting Japan and South Korea, strive to open a free trade account and set up a regional Korean Won and Japanese Yen settlement center. Increase the influence of the special consumption zone for China, Japan and South Korea, build with high standards the demonstration zone for China-Japan (Qingdao) local development cooperation and gathering places of Japanese-invested enterprises and scientific research institutions. Consolidate and enhance the level of cooperation with developed economies including Germany and Israel, expand markets in emerging economies and FTA countries. Enhance the quality and effectiveness of international business clubs’ opening-up services, plan and construct more distinctive “international business clubs”. 

Develop higher-level open economy. Build up the higher-level “single window” for international trade, construct the Qingdao international investment attraction industrial park at a high level, build the national demonstration zone for import trade promotion innovation, implement the cross-border e-commerce multiplication plan and build Qingdao into a Chinese demonstration city of service outsourcing.