QINGDAO has seen fast economic and social development thanks to comprehensive changes brought by China’s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) 10 years ago.

    “Qingdao has gained a better sense of following international conventions and allocating economic resources in an optical global manner,” said Ji Jinliang, deputy chief of the city’s development and reform commission.

    The city has been actively involved in international cooperation in the past 10 years, according to Ji.

    Dependence on labor-intensive industries, such as textile and food processing, has shifted to technology-intensive industries, such as ship building, car and train production. Modern services covering retail sales, finance and consultation were boosted in the past 10 years.

    The added value of the city’s modern service industry grew by more than 15 percent annually to exceed 263 billion yuan between 2001 and 2010, according to Ji.

    “Immediately after the WTO entry, Qingdao started following a path to attract foreign investment and development of product chains and market chains, which has improved the city’s overall industrial strength,” said Song Jikuan, deputy head of the city’s economic informationization commission.

    In addition, local companies, such as Haier and Hisense, have actively participated in international cooperation and competition to improve their competitiveness.

    A model base for innovative industrialization in China, Qingdao ranks first among its domestic counterparts in terms of competitiveness in the manufacturing industry.

    (Li Hao, Shen Junlin)