Dalian may become shipping, logistic center in NE Asia by 2020

Liaoning province unveils its plan to increase the annual cargo capacity of Dalian, a city located on southern Liaodong Peninsula, to 500 million tons by the year of 2020, making the city a major harbor and a shipping and logistic center for northeast Asia.

The plan is delivered in line with Dalian's proposal of building a 50-square-kilometer free trade zone for China and its two neighboring countries – Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan, source reported.

Northeast Asia consists of several major port cities such as Busan in ROK and Yokohama in Japan, and it is one of the world's key economic areas. Though Dalian has less regular international sea routes to other ports, the geographic advantage, convenient transportation and open economy of the city is obvious, said Wang Jun, a professor at Dalian Maritime University.

In order to achieve the plan of making Dalian the logistics center, Liaoning Province will facilitate the port resources by investing more in construction and improvement on road, rail and air facilities.

Dalian, with a population of over 6 million, is the marine gateway of northeast China. It is among China's first 14 cities opened to foreign investment. It utilized FDI of US$2.245 million in the year of 2006, taking up one fourth of the total of northeast China.