Dalian Economy

The city has enjoyed a continuous double-digit increase in GDP since 1992. In 2007, the city's GDP registered a 17.5 percent increase, reaching RMB313.1 billion, while per capita GDP hit RMB51,624. According to a nationwide appraisal by the National Bureau of Statistics, Dalian ranks eighth among Chinese cities in terms of overall strength. By 2010, GDP is expected to reach RMB342 billion. The city’s main industries include machine manufacturing, petrochemicals and oil refining, and electronics.

Seventeen enterprises in shipbuilding, internal-combustion engines, and finished oil and bearings are the largest firms of their kind in the country. Dalian is an excellent location for businesses involved in metal and lumber processing, component parts consolidation and distribution.

The city is also striving to build up an IT and software center – it is now an increasingly important software exporter to Japan. Finance and other service industries are growing as well. At present, some 21 foreign-funded banks and financial institutions have set up branches or agencies in the city. The exhibition industry is also doing well. The Xinghai Convention and Exhibition Center has hosted over 300 events, including the Dalian Import and Export Commodities Fair and Dalian International Garment Fair.

Agriculture and Aquaculture

Dalian was originally an agriculture and aquaculture-based area, which, after the opening of the ferry between Yantai and Lüshun during the early 20th century, began to be populated by the farmers and fishermen of Shandong, across the Yellow Sea. Corn, vegetables, fruit such as apples, cherries and pears are Dalian's typical agricultural products. Aquaculture is well developed in Dalian, exporting seaweed, scallops, sea urchins and others to Japan, Korea and other countries.

Heavy, Light and Distribution Industries

Even before and during the Sino-Japanese War, the shipbuilding and locomotives industries were a thriving industry, such as the companies which later became Dalian Shipbuilding Co. and Dalian Locomotive & Roll Stock Works. After the War, Dalian became an important center of the heavy and light industries, including companies such as Dalian Heavy Industry Co., Dalian Chemical Group, and Wafangdian Bearing Co.; and of the distribution industry, including such as Dashang Group. Overseas retailing giants, such as Wal-Mart from U.S.A., Carrefour from France and Metro from Germany have recently opened stores in Dalian. Mycal, the Japanese retailing chain store, was bought out by its Chinese partner, Dashang Group, and is operated as Mykal.

Dalian Port is emerging as a very important port for international trade. A new harbor for oil tankers, at the terminus of an oil pipeline from the Daqing oilfields, was completed in 1976. Dalian is the largest petroleum port in China, and also the 3rd largest port overall. Accordingly, Dalian is a major center for oil refineries, diesel engineering, and chemical production. Also completed recently is a newer port on Dagushan Peninsula on the northern suburbs, specializing in import/export of mining and oil products. Together with its Dalian Railroad Station, Dalian International Airport and two major express roads or Shenyang-Changchun-Harbin in the north and to Dandong to the east, Dalian has become an important distribution center.

Dalian Development Zone

Dalian has been given many benefits by the Chinese government, including the title of "open-city" (1984), which allows it to receive considerable foreign investment (see Special Economic Zone). The Development Zone was established in Jinzhou District, to which many Japanese manufacturing companies, such as Canon, Mitsubishi Electric, Nidec, Sanyo Electric and Toshiba, followed by Korean, American and European companies (such as Pfizer). In March 2007, Intel announced plans to build a semiconductor fabrication facility (commonly known as a fab) in the Development Zone, Dalian. It is Intel's first fab to be built at an entirely new site in over 15 years. The fab at Dalian will make the chip set that support Intel’s microprocessors and is expected to begin operation in the first half of 2010.

Industrial zones

Dalian Development Zone
Dalian Economic & Technological Development Zone
Dalian Free Trade Zone

Financial Industry

There are the Dalian branches of China's five major banks: Bank of China, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Bank of Communications, and Agricultural Bank of China. Dalian Commercial Bank is now called Dalian Bank, which among other things handles processing of the Dalian Mingzhu IC Card for public transportation. Foreign banks, such as Citibank, HSBC, Bank of East Asia, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and Mizuho Corporate Bank also have branch offices.

Dalian Commodity Exchange is the only one of its kind in China, expanding the futures market beyond soybeans. A "Financial Street" around the new Commodity Exchange building is now being planned.

IT Industry

Since the 1990s Dalian City has emphasized the development of the IT industry, especially in Dalian Hi-Tech Zone and Dalian Software Park in the western suburbs near Dalian University of Technology. There, there are not only Chinese IT companies, such as DHC, Hisoft and Neusoft Group, but also American, European, Indian and Japanese IT companies, such as Accenture, Dell, Genpact, HP, IBM, SAP AG, Alpine, CSK Holding, Panasonic, NEC, Sony and Fidelity.

Dalian has recently become an important center for information technology offshoring and business process outsourcing, similar to Bangalore in India; the city was described in "The World Is Flat" by Thomas Friedman (2007). In another way, Dalian is the forerunner of China's "Re-Development of the Old Industry Bases in Northeast" National Project, which began in 2002.

Viewing Dalian's Modern Industries

The Dalian Modern Museum in Xinghai Square is a good place to quickly view Dalian's present-day industries, with displays of the products and services of the major companies.

Also good are the city-wide festivals: China International Software & Information Service Fair (June), Dalian International Beer Festival (July-August) and Dalian International Auto Show (August) and Dalian International Fashion Week (September).

Special Touring Regions: