The eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province is striving to build itself into a leading city in the development of top industries, said local officials.

The city has launched a three-year action plan (2022-24) and a five-year action plan (2022-26) to boost seven advantageous industries, such as smart home appliances and rail transit equipment, accelerate the expansion of 10 emerging industries, such as integrated circuits and virtual reality, and promote the development of modern finance and modern logistics.

By 2026, the added value of the manufacturing sector is expected to account for more than 30 percent of the city's GDP and the added value of producer services will account for 62 percent of the added value of the service sector. The added value of the core industries of the digital economy will account for 12 percent of the regional GDP, and the penetration rate of industrial internet platforms will reach 50 percent in the city.

The city will spare no effort to provide funding and services to create an optimal environment for the development of emerging industries, said local officials.

Qingdao has released several supportive policies and measures to facilitate the development of virtual reality industrial parks in the city.

In the next three years, Qingdao will allocate more than 1.2 billion yuan ($164.52 million) to support the construction of virtual reality industrial parks and the cultivation of related enterprises, in a bid to build Qingdao into a domestic first-class, globally competitive virtual reality industry R&D and manufacturing highland.

The city is also stepping up efforts to promote the convergence of digital technologies and manufacturing as part of its broader push to promote industrial upgrading. It has accelerated the digital transformation of its traditional industries, and accelerated innovation in multiple application scenarios such as social governance, public services, and production.

The Jinjialing Financial District in Qingdao is home to many modern financial enterprises. [Photo/Guanhai News]

An intelligent production workshop of Sailun Group, one of the leading industrial enterprises in Qingdao [Photo/Guanhai News]

A chemical production area in Qingdao's bay area [Photo/Guanhai News]

An aerial photo of the Virtual Reality Industrial Park in Laoshan district, Qingdao [Photo by Zhao Jianpeng/Guanhai News]