​Qingdao WCNA makes remarkable progress in past decade

Qingdao West Coast New Area is located at the west side of Jiaozhou Bay in the coastal city of Qingdao in East China's Shandong province. [Photo/WeChat ID: qdxihaianfabu]

Qingdao West Coast New Area (Qingdao WCNA), also known as Huangdao district, has made fruitful achievements in social and economic development over the past decade, official statistics showed.

The gross domestic product (GDP) of Qingdao WCNA grew rapidly and reached 436.85 billion yuan ($60.76 billion) in 2021, accounting for 31 percent of Qingdao city's total. The figure put Qingdao WCNA among the top three of the 19 State-level new areas, first among 137 counties and districts in Shandong province and fourth among the top 100 districts in China.

The new area serves as a new growth pole for transforming Shandong into a strong maritime province and China into a strong maritime country. Its gross marine product increased by 15.4 percent annually, accounting for 40 percent of Qingdao's total, 11.3 percent of Shandong's total and 1.86 percent of the country's total.

In the past 10 years, the total number of market entities Qingdao WCNA has increased nearly six times to 420,000, and the number of specialized enterprises that produce cutting-edge products in the area has increased from less than 100 to 1,686.

The per capita income of urban and rural residents in Qingdao WCNA reached 52,700 yuan at the end of last year, 2.38 times that of 10 years ago.