Sister States – South Australia & Shandong Province

Qingdao

A Sister State relationship exists between Shandong Province and South Australia and Adelaide and Qingdao have a highly regarded cooperative city relationship.  South Australia and Shandong Province established Sister State Level Relations in 1986. Adelaide and Qingdao established their Friendly Cooperative City status on the 29th of March 2000.

South Australian businesses have  an advantages over other international competitors due to the highly regarded cooperative city relationship and the increased frequency of important delegations between Qingdao and Adelaide illustrates the eagerness of both cities to strengthen our sister city and sister state relationships holistically through education, business, sports, the arts and tourism.

Introduction

• Qingdao is a beautiful coastal city that lies at the southern tip of the Shandong Peninsula. The city is sometimes known as the Switzerland of the Orient. Located in Jiaozhou Bay facing the Yellow Sea, Qingdao is also a well-known holiday destination in China. The city has seven urban districts and five county level cities under its jurisdiction. Today it is one of the most important open coastal cities and one of the independent cities with state planning and budgeting powers with its own provincial power in economic management.
• Many geographical, political and economic factors make Qingdao the most strategic “beach-head” for those seeking to do business in China. The Adelaide/ Qingdao relationship can be utilized as an entry point for other business and interest groups looking for long term business opportunities in China.
• Qingdao provides the best prospects for a formal relationship with Adelaide, in terms of advancing the economic development strategy of the city, and enhancing the city’s achievement of its strategic goals.

International Rankings & Statistics

• Qingdao has a population of 8 million, Shandong Province 96 million.
• Shandong is the second wealthiest province in China.
• Qingdao is the wealthiest city in Shandong Province which has the second highest GDP of China’s provinces.. It is one of China’s 10 most economically performing and 10 best commercial cities.
• Qingdao is selected one of China’s top 10 brand cities
• A study done by the World Bank ranked Qingdao as the 11th most attractive city for domestic investors in China, and 7th most attractive city for foreign investors in China.
• FORTUNE magazine selected Qingdao as one of the five “Emerging Commercial Cities” in China It was the fifth time the magazine had given out the annual award based on a survey. Qingdao was second in the survey after Suzhou. Emerging commercial cities would likely become super cosmopolites’ in China, according to the magazine. The survey collected comments from 1,278 senior agents in China regarding the commercial environment, commercial costs, local talent resources and the quality of life in 50 cities.
• Qingdao is one of China’s top ten economically dynamic cities and top ten business cities. 
• In April of 2006 the Qingdao International Beer Festival was praised as the No.1 of ‘Top Ten Festivals in China’
• Qingdao is one of China’s top ten economically dynamic cities and top ten business cities. It is the winner of the country’s “Entrepreneur’s Satisfaction Award”.
• Qingdao is a national model for environmental protection, city sanitation and landscape development. It is the winner of “China Human Settlements and Environment Award”.
• Qingdao is also ranked 5th in government effectiveness vis-à-vis foreign firms. Only six cities are ranked for all five measures in the study – overall investment climate for foreign and domestic firms, government effectiveness toward domestic and foreign firms
• A study done by the World Bank ranked Qingdao as the 11th most attractive city for domestic investors in China, and 7th most attractive city for foreign investors in China.
• Qingdao is also ranked 5th in government effectiveness vis-à-vis foreign firms. Only six cities are ranked for all five measures in the study – overall investment climate for foreign and domestic firms, government effectiveness toward domestic and foreign firms.
• Qingdao is one of the six “golden cities.” The Chinese Institute of City Competitiveness issued a list on Wednesday, July 8 in Hong Kong, ranking the top 10 cities in China for 2009, Chinanews.com reports. The institute investigated 289 cities before making selections
• One of 5 Chinese Cities with Economic Autonomy at the Provincial-level
• Ranks 5th in the 15 Key Economic Cities