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Dalian has confidence in going global

By Qi Xiao (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-09-10 18:23

The city of Dalian has full confidence and a clear strategy to go global, Xia Deren, Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Dalian Committee, said Thursday at a press conference of the ongoing Summer Davos, which is being held in the city from Sept 10 to 12.

Xia Deren, Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Dalian Committee answers questions from journalists during the ongoing Summer Davos in Dalian of northeast China's Liaoning province September 10, 2009. [chinadaily.cm.cn]

His remarks came after a foreign reporter raised her concern that Dalian is still not well-known enough in the rest of the world despite having hosted two of the three Summer Davos meetings.

"What we have to do is to integrate Dalian into the global industry chain," Xia said, "People everywhere need to buy products and need services. If they see the products produced or the services provided are from Dalian, they will surely know Dalian."

One example, Xia pointed out, is Dalian Software Park. Many enterprises in the US or Japan now know Dalian, thanks to the development of outsourcing - one essential part of the global industry chain.

Still, Xia said, the influence of the Summer Davos should not be underestimated.

Since Dalian hosted the first Summer Davos in 2007, corporations from the Fortune Global 500 have set up their representative offices or headquarters in Dalian every 45 days on averages, much more regular before 2007, when they were only sporadic.

On whether Dalian will become the permanent location for the Summer Davos, Xia cited a survey conducted after the Summer Davos 2007, in which 87% the participates said they would like to return to Dalian again.

Currently, Tianjin, the host city for the second Summer Davos in 2008, is also said to be vying for the same status.