Dalian, China

14. February 2008 by Aidan.

 Model of Dalian Development Area

In November I visited Dalian in China. Although you don’t hear much about Dalian it actually has a population of around 7 million people. It is on the coast in the North East corner of China, quite near North Korea. It was my first time in China and I wasn’t sure what to expect, particularly when I wasn’t going to one of the big cities that I had heard about.

I was very impressed with the area. I was there on business and spent a lot of time in meetings, including many with the local authorities. They have created a huge development zone around the city, called the Dalian Development Area. This area is 390km2 is size and contains many technology parks. They are pushing strongly for overseas investment in the area, particularly hi-tech and it is incredible to see the steps that they are going to to attract this investment. They have universities, hospitals, international schools and many hotels in this area. If you want to set up a business there and need something built, they will build it for you. They even have a huge Disneyland style themepark and many golf courses in the area.

Of course, many companies moving here are attracted by the low cost of labour; and it is very low. According to the local authorities, the standard salary for workers in low tech industries is about 650-1000RNB per month. This is about 65 to 100 Euro’s per month (yes, one hundred!). For skilled workers in technology companies they say that the monthly salary could rise to about 150 euro’s per month. My own information is that this too low and the actual salary for an engineer is about 500 Euro per month - still low!

Overall, I was impressed with Dalian and the efforts that the local government is making to attract business there. I can see why China is such a huge challenge to manufacturing in the West.

Let me know if you want any more information, Aidan. 

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