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Qidong is situated at the merging point of Yellow Sea, East China Sea and Yangtze River. This article summarises ten investment advantages of the Qidong investment environment. Please also see the earlier article: Introduction of Qidong Investment Environment.

1. Geographic Advantage

Qidong lies in the eastern part of Yangtze Delta. With the shape of a peninsula, it is surrounded by water on three sides: the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and the Yangtze River. As a joining point, it is a strategic passage to enter Shanghai from the northern part of the Yangtze River. To the east, Qidong is close to Japan and Korea just over the East China Sea. The direct distance by water to the big international ports of Nagasaki Japan, Busan South Korea, Taibei is about 400 nautical miles. To the south, it is close to Shanghai. The direct distance to downtown Shanghai is only 50 kilometers. Besides, Shanghai-Pudong-Chongming-Qidong Big Passage and Su-Tong
(Suzhou-Nantong) Great Bridge are both under construction and will be completed and put into use in 2009 and 2008 respectively. At that time, the travelling distance between Qidong, Shanghai and southern parts of the Yangtze River will be greatly reduced. Two over-Yangtze river great passages will also be connected with the Nanjing-Qidong highway, an expressway along the sea as well as four other highways: Shanghai-Nanjing, Nanjing-Hangzhou, Beijing-Shanghai and Shanghai-Xian. By then, Qidong will become a transportation hub linking both banks of the Yangtze River and coastal areas with inland regions. With convenient transportation, Qidong will be a one hour drive to the Shanghai economic circle.

2. Transportation Advantage

Its unique geographic advantage enables Qidong to have one big passage, two important ports nearby, be close to three airports and be connected with four major highways.

(a) Shanghai-Chongming-Qidong big passage.
Two great bridges and one tunnel are being built between Qidong and Shanghai, which makes these two cities become one. At present, the tunnel and bridge which connect Shanghai and Chongming is under construction and construction of the great bridge between Chongming and Qidong will be started in March this year. The whole project will be completed and come into use in 2010. At which time Qidong becomes a transfer hub of Shanghai-Xian national highway network. Then there will be only a 20 minute drive from Qidong to Shanghai Waigaoqiao port and only a 45 minute drive to Shanghai Pudong lnternational Airport.

(b) Shanghai Port and Nantong Port.
From these two big ports, all goods and products can be exported to the whole world. At present there is 150 kilometres between Qidong and Shanghai. After the completion of great bridge, the road distance will be reduced to only 62 kilometres. Nantong Port is the biggest port on the northern part of the Yangtze River and the distance between them is only 70 kilometres now. Compared with other cities in Yangtze delta, Qidong takes great advantage of the time efficiency and transportation cost for cargo exports.

(c) Shanghai Pudong lnternational Airport, Shanghai Hongqiao Airport and Nantong Xingdong Airport.
All visitors coming from home and abroad can reach Qidong within one hour through one of these three major airports.

(d) Four major highways.
Through highways along the line of the sea, it takes only 15hrs, 6hrs and 13hrs to Shenzhen, Qingdao and Dalian respectively. By way of Beijing-Shanghai highway, it takes 10hrs from Qidong to Beijing. Through highway from Qidong to Xian, it takes 8hrs to Wuhan. Besides, there is only 3hrs driving from Qidong to Nanjing.

3. Prospect Advantage

The successful development of Shenzhen, Guangzhou, and Dongyuan has mainly derived benefits from their advantageous location, which is closely connected with Hongkong. Similarly, the prosperity of Yangtze delta areas like Suzhou and Kungshan takes great advantage from Shanghai. Since 2001, Shanghai   has become a centre of the world economy, transportation and trade. From this sense, Qidong connecting with Shanghai, is melding with the core part of China’s economy. In 2005, Jiangsu province put forward the strategy of development along the Yangtze River and sea. Qidong is the only city in Jiangsu which is close to the sea and river at the same time.

So Qidong is not only an important part of Shanghai’s economy but it’s also a bridgehead for receiving the influence of Shanghai. In the recent past 5 years, because of Shanghai, Suzhou and Kunshan have become the most developed cities in its area individually. However, at present, the lack of water, electricity, land and labour has greatly limited these cities further and more rapid development. Compared with these southern Yangtze areas, Qidong has an abundance of the resources which they are lacking (ie electricity, labour, shipping access etc). In 2005, Qidong listed the 9th of Top 100 Medium-and Small-sized cities possessing Most Investment Potential. In 2006, it listed 3rd just behind Kunshan and Jiangyin. Besides, the Qidong Economic Development Zone was listed the second of Top 10 Most Investment Potential Development Zone of the Yangtze delta. From a strategic sense, investing in Qidong is investing in Pudong.

4. Resource Advantage

(a) Land Resource of Intertidal Zone.
The total area of intertidal zone in Qidong is about 660,000 mu, including about 440,000 mu of shoal and 220,000 mu of river shoal plus about 60,000 mu of sand shoal. At present, its coastline is extending to the outside at the speed of 100 meter every year. By reclaiming viable land from marshes, this intertidal zone can become new land continuously, which other cities are not capable of producing! In the next two years, Qidong is planning to reclaim land of about 30 square kilometres.

(b) Coastline Resource.
Qidong has 203 kilometres of coastline that provides a great potential resource. Lvsi port is one of the six largest fishing ports throughout China. It has more than 30 kilometres of coastline for building deep water berths for over 50,000-ton grade shipping. With the development of Lvsi port, a lot of big projects like the petrochemical industry energy storage and dock have chosen to make their home in Qidong.

(c) Water Resource.
Qidong is at the meeting point of the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and the Yangtze River. That is, Qidong has abundant water resource.

(d) Electricity Resource.
The price of electricity is comparatively cheap in Qidong, and there’s no limit on using power. The Datang power project, with an investment of RMB 25 billion, and the most advanced wind power project are now under construction. Recently, Shanghai planned to invest RMB 50 billion in Qidong for electricity construction. In the near future, Qidong will become an electricity supply base for Shanghai and other Yangtze delta areas.

5. Human Resource Advantage

Qidong is a place propitious for giving birth to great men. That is, the fundamental and various vocational educations here are always taking the leading place in Jiangsu province, or even relative to the whole country. Rates of compulsory and high school education individually come to 100% & 85% respectively; rates for students entering colleges are up to 90%. The result of college entrance examinations has seen Qidong taking the first three positions for a concessive 10 years in Jiangsu. Besides that, Qidong Middle School has created many remarkable achievements. For example, about 20 students from just one class were enrolled by Peking University and Tsinghua University in successive years. And in International Olympic Student Science Competitions, Qidong students have won 12 gold medals and 2 silver medals so far, which is well-known by the whole world. Qidong also has two medium vocational schools with present students of more than 20,000 in all fields. All of these aspects guarantee enterprises located in Qidong access to the best professional and high-level technical workers.

6. Auxiliary Advantage

In Qidong, industry started using various kinds of hi-technology very early. At present, there are more than 20,000 industrial enterprises operating within industries like machinery, textile and cloth, fine chemical, bio-medicine, new building materials, electric power tools, etc. Investors from Denmark, Norway, Germany, America, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan have founded enterprises of large scale, good benefit and hi-tech in the fields of electricity, auto auxiliary, bio-medicine and chemical power. All kinds of enterprises can find their own auxiliary supplies within a circle of about 100 kilometres around Qidong.

7. Industrial Park Advantage

Qidong Economic Development Zone, founded in July,1992, is a key provincial-level development zone along the River. It consists of one zone and three parks. That is, the Qidong Economic Development zone, Binhai Industry Park, Binjiang Fine Chemical Industry Park and North Town Industry Park. Its overall planning area is about 100 square kilometres.

(a) Central Park.
It is close to downtown Qidong and has a total planned area of 50 square kilometres. To the south, it is connected with the Yangtze River; to the north it is close to the Nanjing-Qidong highway. At present, 18 square kilometres have been developed. The total funds contributed to-date for construction has accumulated to about RMB 2 billion. So, this zone enjoys well-rounded facilities and is constructed to a modern standard, complete with facilities like road, power, water, heat, air, drainage, telecommunication, cable TV, wideband, modern factory buildings, luxury hotel, plaza, apartment buildings, hospital, school and clubs.

A standard factory building has an area of 1,500-1,700 square meters. All of them are reasonable and economic. As investors request, these standard factory buildings can not only be sold but can also be rented. Besides that, this zone has strong industrial infrastructure and has been committed for the development of six industries: precision mechanics, electronic communication, auto parts, bio-medicine, new power sources and modern textiles. It aims to build a high level economic platform boasting distinctive industries and strong comprehensive competitiveness. It has attracted investments form more than 20 countries and regions like America, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Britain, Korea, Norway, Indonesia, Canada, Hong Kong and Taiwan. A number of business giants have sprung up here.

(b) Qidong Binhai Industry Park.
To the east, it is close to the Yellow Sea; to the north it is close to the Lvsi port (which is under construction) and the Datang Power Plant (the biggest in East China); and to the south it is connected with the Shanghai-Chongming-Qidong big passage. The total planned area is 30 square kilometres. At present, 11 square kilometres have been developed, drawing construction funds of RMB 0.3 billion. This park aims to establish such industries as shipping parts, machinery, electronics and food processing.

(c) Qidong-Bingjiang Fine Chemical Park.
This park occupies a planned area of 12 square kilometres and incorporates production, scientific research, services, trade logistics and information market services. It is mainly designed for fine chemical industries from home and abroad and focuses on high-tech, energy-efficient, high-yield and pollution controllable projects.

(d) Qidong North Town Industry Park.
This park is situated in the suburbs of Qidong, in the north, and its planned area covers 10 square kilometres. The park has a significant emphasis on developing auto parts, mechanical and electronic industries. It has been built to meet the up-to-date requirements of modern industry.

8. Government Service Advantage

With the principles of Hearty Service for the Investors and Making Investors Profitable, Qidong has founded three service centres under the rule of international customs and market economy.

(a) Municipal Service Centre.
In the Municipal Service Centre, there are 44 functional departments and 3 agencies, which can offer investors highly efficient and convenient services. In the usual case, investors can finish all procedures during a period of 3-5 working days, as long as they provide complete application materials as required.

(b) Foreign Investors Service Centre.
The Foreign Investors Service Centre provides investors with all-direction policy consultation, coordination with different government departments in relation to any problems and difficulties investors may encounter. It devotes itself to establishing an honest and trustworthy service environment of all-direction, whole-course and all-weather.

(c) Economy & Environment Supervision Centre.
The Economy & Environment Supervision Centre mainly carries out protection-style services for investors. After a foreign-invested enterprise is established, without government approval, any unit or individual is not allowed to enter the enterprise to inspect or collect fees (except fire fighting & epidemic prevention) in any name. Besides, Qidong is the only county which set up a custom house on the north of Yangtze River. It is a model administrative agency that can provide services daily. If the enterprise has cargos that are exported and imported in Shanghai and Nantong Ports, service officers can apply to customs and have them checked directly in Qidong.

9. Investment Policy Advantage

(a) Land Policy.
For any newly-established industrial enterprise with overseas investment, if its registered capital is between USD 5 million and USD 10 million (or not less than USD 1 million for hi-tech enterprises), the land-use right will be transferred at standard price, and this fee will be returned as reward according to the amount and scale of the real registered capital. To those with large investment, high technology, special industries or with investment from any enterprise listed in the World Top 500 in recent 3 years, special case treatment will be given on the land-use transfer fee and more favourable policies will be applied.

(b) Tax Policy.
For any newly-established industrial enterprise with investment form foreign investors, if its operation period is more than 15 years, then from its profit-making year, the locally retained income from the income tax already paid by the said enterprise for the 1st to 2nd years will be fully retuned as reward, and 50% deduction of that for the 3rd to 5th years will be retuned as reward. For national encouraging projects, customs duties for importing equipment will be exempted as long as the importing fees are within the total investment.

(c) Other Policies.
According to the different conditions of enterprises, more favourable policies will be applied for special individual cases.

10. Residential & Business Environment Advantage

(a)  Natural Environment.
Qidong belongs to the Northern Subtropical Moisture climate zone, characterized by the ocean monsoon climate. Here, with distinctive seasons and moderate climate, it is full of sunshine and abundant rain water. The highest temperature is 35C. The lowest one is 0C. Annual average temperature is 15C. Annual time for the duration of sunshine amounts to 2073hr. Annual precipitation volume is 1037 mm. Besides, the number of annual average frost-free days is 222 and the relative humidity is 81%. With outstanding geographic advantages, investors can taste not only delicious sea foods, but also dainty fresh water foods.

(b)  Safety Public Order.
Qidong is a city with stable society, good public order and full security guarantee of working and living. It creates the concept of a safe and sound Qidong and a pattern of conciliation of social conflicts. That successful experience of making public security safe has been widely spread and carried out all over the country.

(c) Residential & Business Environment.
With wonderful scenery and a pleasant climate, the residential environment here is very comfortable. Compared with Shanghai, we are close to language, culture, idea of life, way and level of living. In recent years, Qidong has sped up the process of city construction. Thus, the appearance of this city is flourishing with each passing day. The image of the city is being optimised continuously. The quality of this city is being elevated unceasingly. Now, there is one five-star hotel, two four-star hotels, more than 10 coffee bars, over 50 high buildings of all kinds, as well as fitness centres of superior quality, a relaxation and entertainment square, music bars, a golf practice square and comfortable and classic villa districts. All of these aspects can satisfy the needs of residential and business activities. It is really a place for starting and living.

Welcome to Qidong!
You can harvest more than you expected!

For more information contact Linchang Shen.

Linchang Shen
Shanghai Promise Law

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