About Bohai
Bohai, or the Bohai Economic Rim (BER) is the coastal area of northeastern China on the Yellow Sea, bordering both North and South Korea. The major cities in this area are Beijing, Tianjin, Qingdao, Dalian and Shenyang. Qingdao and Dalian are both major seaports and industrial centres.
Qingdao, also known as Tsingtao is on the southern side of the BER. It is home to Tsingtao Brewery, Qingdao Free Trade Zone and Qingdao Special Economic and Technology Development Zone. South Korea and Japan have historically made significant investments in Qingdao, approximately 80,000 South Korean residents currently reside there.
Dalian is on the southern side of the BER. The city is has several industrial zones, with a focus on automobile and more recently high-tech manufacturing. Dalian also has the only futures exchange in northeastern China, the Dalian Commodity Exchange which is ranked 11th in the world by the Futures Industry Association. Dalian Port is the 6th largest in China and the 8th busiest in the world by cargo tonnage in 2012.
Shenyang is on the southern side of the BER. It is a sub-provincial city and an important industrial centre, Shenyang is also the transportation and commercial centre of northeastern China. In 2010, the Economist Intelligent Unit included Shenyang in its profile of the top 20 emerging cities in China.
AustCham in Bohai
AustCham already has a strong presence in Beijing and Tianjin. This year we are expanding our footprint into Qingdao. We are seeking opportunities for our existing members in this emerging commercial center, as well as new members who wish to have greater connections with Australian businesses in our network.
To subscribe to the AustCham Bohai mailing list or schedule an appointment to speak with AustCham, please contact AustCham Senior Relationships Manager, Oliver Theobald.
South Australia Government in Bohai (Shandong)
The South Australian (SA) Government has established the Blue Bio-Tech Park in the Qingdao National High-Tech Development Zone. The Park will house 50-100 SMEs and will also serve as an incubator centre for R&D. SA companies residing in the Blue Bio-Tech Park will also be supported by business development services, particularly for the establishment of subsidiaries and JVs to allow export of high-tech product and services. This is the next step in SA and Shandong’s long economic partnership as sister states.
Industry links
Several of these cities are included in KPMG’s Outsourcing Destinations in China report.
Xinhua (English version) has reported the State Council’s recent guideline for the development of the Bohai Rim area.
Information about free trade zones in Shandong via China Briefing.