The Qingdao Area of the China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone (Qingdao FTZ) achieved robust growth in 2022, according to the zone's administration.
Imports and exports in the Qingdao FTZ exceeded 200 billion yuan ($28.27 billion) for the first time, accounting for 22 percent of Qingdao's total in 2022.
The number of new market entities and the general public budget revenue rose 15 percent and 36.3 percent year-on-year, respectively, and the zone's actual utilization of foreign capital increased by 17 percent year-on-year.
It signed 22 projects that are sponsored by Fortune 500 companies, and added 26 shipping routes, with its international shipping hub competitiveness index ranking first in Northeast Asia.
The zone also achieved a new high in offshore trade revenue, accounting for 90 percent of the city's total and 80 percent of the province's total.
In 2022, Qingdao FTZ produced 125 new institutional innovation achievements, with five of which being promoted nationwide and 39 being promoted throughout the province.
Qingdao FTZ issued the first special policy for sailors in China to boost industrial development and has been selected as the only "Block chain + Trade finance" innovation demonstration platform among the national free trade zones.
China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone Qingdao Area
