Shandong became only the second province to reach a GDP of over 3 trillion yuan in 2008. While most of the economies across the world are suffering from the current financial uncertainties, Shandong, the eastern coastal province, impressed all by a 2008 GDP of 3.11 trillion yuan—a growth of nearly 12.1 percent, achieving an accomplishment previously only matched by China’s traditionally most prosperous province—Guangdong.

According to a more in-depth analysis of the figures, it was also Shandong’s 17th consecutive year of posting a double-digit growth, the province’s per capita GDP also firstly surpassed the 30,000-yuan mark.

Nevertheless, the provincial government is not taking the impressive figures as a mandate for relaxing their drive for economic expansion. On the contrary, it has released ambitious plans to sustain development across the whole province, particularly focusing on boosting the under-performing regions in Yellow River Delta and southern Shandong.

At present, some 72 percent of Shandong’s GDP is contributed by the province’s major cities like Jinan, Qingdao, Yantai and Weihai. Under the local government’s new strategy, growth of 10 major cities in Shandong will continue to be nurtured, though additional resources will be diverted into supporting the economically unsuccessful areas.

Even though they currently make comparatively small contributions to the province’s overall GDP, the local government has identified huge potential for future development among the natural resources and fine ecological balance in both the Yellow River area and the south of the province. Rich Coal reserves have already been identified in southern Shandong, whereas programs are already under way to develop the Yellow River Delta into both the nation’s second largest oilfield and one of most expansive wetland areas in China.

According to Jiang Daming, the governor of Shandong, the new development strategy will place an emphasis on integrating the major cities surrounding the provincial capital Jinan into a closely-linked city cluster, as well as developing a high-end manufacturing industrial zone in the eastern areas. The strategy also includes programs of building an ecologically-friendly economic zone in the Yellow River Delta and stepping up the development of the iron and steel industry in Rizhao, a port city in southern Shandong.

Jiang said a budget of 1.6 trillion yuan had already been earmarked to initiate the scheme with a majority of it being allocated to an infrastructure construction program. In spite of the ongoing uncertainties in global financial markets, the investment aims at ensuring the province maintains an annual GDP growth of at least 10 percent.

The program of urban facility construction, part of the initiative, will be accelerated in the two major cities of Jinan and Qingdao. 335 key construction projects, or a combined investment of 337.4 billion yuan, are expected to start in Qingdao alone in 2009. Another 204 projects, involving a total investment of around 166.1 billion yuan, are planned for Jinan. Furthermore, some 53 billion yuan will be used to improve port facilities in Qingdao, Yantai, Rizhao, Weihai and Jining. Meanwhile, 167.3 billion yuan will be invested in improving road and rail transportation facilities away from the cities, with the total length of railways in Shandong expected to reach 5,500 km by 2015.

As part of the national development plan, the proposed development of ecological-friendly economic zone in Yellow River Delta will also receive some 100 billion yuan of investment in 2009.

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China, crisis, economy, GDP, growth, province, Shandong