THE National Development and Reform Commission has listed Qingdao as one of China’s first pilot cities for the reform of the service industry.

    The status of a pilot city would provide a driving force for Qingdao to deepen its reform and innovation in the service industry, said the city’s development and reform commission.

    According to the pilot plan, the city will concentrate on service reforms in the fields of finance, logistics, tourism and science and technology for the next five years.

    The city government plans to establish a strong service industry surrounding Jiaozhou Bay to build a regional service industry center for Northeast Asia.

    The city will consider building a free trade zone with Japan and South Korea, aiming to build international shipping and logistic centers. The city also plans international centers of coastal tourism and marine scientific research and education, plus a national model city of service outsourcing.

    According to the plan, the city’s service industry will make a bigger contribution to GDP by 2015.(Li Hao, Liu Fangbin)