Weihai is one of the industrial zones mentioned in the story below, Peninsula focus for growth. In itself it has various zones in which more than RMB4 million has already been invested in infrastructure.

It also has other attractions that bring businesses to the area. It is on the sea and has a pleasant climate and a clean environment. There are plenty of recreational facilities with four golf courses. Weihai has protected its green belt of pine trees along the beach as well as building many parks along the beaches and throughout the city.

The Qingwei and Yanwei Expressways have been constructed, as well as the Taowei Railway line.
Regular commercial and cargo flights are scheduled from across China, including Beijing, and in the region, including Japan and Korea.
Weihai’s port has the capability to accept 10,000 ton and 50,000 ton traffic.
The Weihai power plant has a total generating capacity of over 2 gigawatts, with 850 megawatts already in use.
Weihai’s telecommunications have been enhanced from 19,000 telephone lines to 60,000 lines, with a satellite communications system to Korea.
The administrative area is 72KM2, including a programmed area of 36 square kilometers and an initial area of 11.88 square kilometers.
Source: Business in Asia

Acting Shandong governor Jiang Daming has said the eight-city cluster on the Shandong peninsula should position itself as a regional advanced manufacturing base and take advantage of its close proximity to Japan and South Korea.

The cluster comprises Jinan, Qingdao, Yantai, Zibo, Weihai, Weifang, Dongying, and Rizhao.

As a whole, they generate two-thirds of the province’s gross domestic product: RMB2.6 trillion($359 billion) last year.

The province plans to grow its GDP from the cluster by 15% and foreign direct investment by 40% annually until 2010.

A blueprint for the cluster for 2006-20, calls for six industrial zones to be developed on the Shandong peninsula.

These will cover the petrochemical and medicine industries in Dongying-Zibo, the electronic and IT industries in Jinan, home appliances in Qingdao-Rizhao, the automotive industry in Yantai-Weihai, textiles in Weifang and the marine industry in Rizhao-Qingdao-Weihai-Yantai.

Jiang Daming said, ‘About 70% of listed companies, 70% of foreign-funded firms and 80% of exported products in Shandong are from the city group.’

Shandong will speed up building a base for Japanese and South Korean manufacturing companies on the peninsula centered on Qingdao, Yantai and Weihai.

There are more than 6,000 South Korean and 1,500 Japanese companies on the Shandong peninsula. About 70% of all South Korean firms in China have a presence in Shandong.

Xia Geng, mayor of Qingdao, said there are 5,000 South Korean companies in the city and the number is expected to double in five years.

The coastal city is promoting the establishment of a bonded zone to attract more foreign and domestic investors to set up manufacturing bases.

Qingdao will try to facilitate the construction of a railway ferry project between China and South Korea, so goods can be moved cheaply.
Source: People’s Daily Online