West Coast New Area new economy thrives

The new economy of the Qingdao West Coast New Area has witnessed vigorous development in recent years, local media reported.

An aerial photo of Qingdao West Coast New Area [Photo/IC]

The "Four New Economy" (new technology, new business pattern, new development mode, and new industry) featuring strong vitality, great innovation, high flexibility has become the highlight of the area's economic development.

In 2020, the added value of the Four New Economy in the area reached 114.9 billion yuan ($17.73 billion), up 6.8 percent year-on-year and accounting for 32 percent of the region's GDP. The sector attracted 100 billion yuan in investment, accounting for 50.6 percent of the total, up 16.6 percent year-on-year.

There are currently 698 Four New Economy enterprises in the area, including 374 high-tech enterprises, 102 strategic emerging enterprises and 222 service enterprises.

Since it was approved as a State-level new development zone in 2014, projects involving new economy have become the lifeblood of economic development in the Qingdao West Coast New Area. The digital economy, which is supported by big data and cloud computing, has been growing rapidly.

The area has also set up special working groups focusing on areas like artificial intelligence, cross-border e-commerce, smart medical care, online education and digital entertainment to promote the development of the new economy.