Successful Shandong

MANILA, Philippines — Here  in Shandong, China, for the Fourth 10+3 Media  Cooperation Forum organized by the People’s Daily, the most authoritative and influential national daily newspaper in China with over 2.4 million copies a day, I realize why it has been chosen as the site of this gathering of media from ASEAN, Japan, Korea, and China.  Shandong is a showcase of the economic strength of China.

Shandong has seized the economic and trade cooperation opportunities brought about by the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area officially launched January 1, 2010.  ASEAN is currently the fourth largest trading partner of Shandong.  China’s State Council approved this year the Shandong Peninsula Blue Economic Zone Development Plan, making it the first province in China to carry out a national development strategy focused on marine economy.

We were made aware of the latest policies, measures, and results of Shandong being an experimental pilot for regional cooperation among China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea with the construction of the East and North Asia International Shipping Center.

The pride of the citizens of Shandong is reflected in their repeated assertion that Shandong is No. 1 three times.  It has the number one mountain, Tai Mountain; the number one river, the Yellow River; and the number one sage, Confucius.  Their proclaimed pride of being 111 allowed me to claim in my closing remarks at the Forum that the Manila Bulletin, the Philippines leading newspaper has strong affinity with Shandong, being in its 111th year of existence.

While the forum was held in Jinan, the capital city of Shandong, we also visited Zibo and Qingdao cities both as reflective of the foundation of Shandong Province’s growth as Jinan.  In Zibo City, we saw numerous property development projects and construction of manufacturing facilities.  At the China Ceramics Museum, one saw how beauty and utility are combined and gazed at the variety of ceramic’s uses through the centuries culminating in space travel facilities.

At the Jinjing Group, one marveled at the glass products used in buildings and with diverse properties – heat saving, green technology, etc.  The Shinva Medical Co., Ltd., presented a wide range of medical equipment from the simplest to the complicated, including a complete operating theater.  These enterprises are at the forefront of Zibo City’s growth.

Qingdao ranks among the top ten cities in mainland China with a 2010 GDP of 566.6 billion yuan and general budgetary revenue of 45.2 billion, an annual growth rate of 13.8% and 20.8% respectively since the past five years.  Over the same period, it had total investments in fixed assets of over 1 trillion yuan.

Qingdao has established seven industrial bases – household electric appliances and electronics, petrochemicals, automobiles and locomotives, ship and ocean engineering, textile and clothing, food and beverage, and machinery and steel.  Our visits to Qingdao International Animation and Games Industry Park (teeming with young creative Chinese), the Hisense (whose products and services include multimedia, home appliances, communications, IT intelligent systems, real estate and services with plans to  expand to the Philippines next year), and the Qingdao Beer Museum (featuring Tsingtao beer) exposed us to a broad representation of the dynamism and innovativeness of Qingdao’s industries.

Clearly the No. 2 ranking of China as a world economic power and its continuous high economic growth rate is due to the contributions of its vibrant provinces like Shandong.  Trying to fathom the reason for its success, I am reminded by a story from our tour guide.

He said that in ancient China, an ambassador of the Qi dynasty asked by another ambassador from another dynasty why the inhabitants of Qi were honest and respected there but became criminals when they moved to his dynasty, replied, “The same variety of fruit planted in different soils will yield different fruits.” It is to the credit of the officials and citizens of Shandong that they have created an environment conducive to growth through cooperation and collaboration.

Business Bits.  With a CPI of 5.5 percent in October from 6.1 percent in September, the Chinese government will have more flexibility in monetary policy with the likelihood of broad monetary easing.  It is expected that this may be directed to smaller banks which cater to rural and urban SMEs.