"Dalian is a frontrunner of renovation in northeast China," said Xia Deren, mayor of Dalian and delegate to the 11th National People's Congress, during the delegation meeting of Liaoning Province on Wednesday.

Dalian has scored great success during the reform and opening-up, thanks to the provincial government's decision to develop coast areas. "A case in point," the mayor said, "is the construction of the Dayaowan bonded port, which now serves as an international maritime transportation hub". Opening in June 2007, the port area is already home to some 30 enterprises.

A multinational transportation network has been formed with its center in Dalian. "Compared with traditional maritime routes, Korean and Japanese cargos can now reach Europe 23 days earlier if they are transported through the Eurasian continental bridge via the Dalian port," the mayor told the press during the meeting.

"Dalian has also been the focus of many foreign ventures," he said. In 2007, Intel invested US$2.5 billion in Dalian to establish its first chip production base in Asia. Other foreign conglomerates soon followed the global chip giant. Last year, Changxingdao Island alone signed 39 cooperative ventures worth US$1.8 billion with other foreign companies.

"In recent years, we have made dedicated efforts to improve infrastructure construction, so as to better our services to the companies based in Dalian and attract more investments from overseas," the mayor explained. "The fund for each infrastructure project has exceeded 1 million yuan. We are building Hongyanhe nuclear power station. Railways and highways connecting Changxingdao Island with other coastal ports are now under construction. And the building of coastal highways and reservoirs are all in full swing."

At the end of his speech, Xia Deren said, "China is opening wider and wider to the outside world. We will cash in on this opportunity and become the 'fountain of youth' in northeast China."

(China.org.cn by staff reporter Chen Xia, March 6, 2008)