The FLD Interpreting Team helped translate a welcoming speech by the municipal leader at an investment fair in Ningde City
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear leaders, guests, ladies, gentlemen and friends:
Today is an extremely important moment: the State Council has announced its Several Outlines to Support the Construction of the West Taiwan Strait Economic Zone so that it embarks on a new construction journey. And the development of the regions round Sandu Bay has ushered in an unprecedented period. Now the Investment Fair of Ningde Municipality of the West Taiwan Strait Economic Zone has opened. First please allow me on behalf of Ningde Municipal Party Committee, the Municipal People’s Government and her 3.3 million hospitable residents to extend our warmest welcome to the leaders, guests and friends from all walks of life. I also express my personal gratitude to all of you for your concern and support for Ningde.
Ningde enjoys a reputation of being “a bright pearl of the East Sea”. In her arms lies the world-renowned natural and excellent deep-water harbor: Sandu Bay, around which Ningde has been developing, and it is going to be a booming coastal city as well as a new growth pole in the northeast of the West Taiwan Strait Economic Zone. The regions round Sandu Bay are the intensive areas that show the advantages of the location, ports , resources , potential, and hope of Ningde to speed up scientific development at a greater leap.
Here the location is unique. The regions round Sandu Bay are situated in the middle of the three major economic zones of the Yangtze River Delta, the Peal River Delta and Taiwan with obvious and unique location advantage of connecting the nation in four directions, especially Sandu Bay holds a central position on the international navigation routes on the west Pacific coast and in between the north and the south coast of China. The Bay is close to the equator international navigation routes (only 30 nautical miles distance) and just 126 nautical miles away from Keelung Port of Taiwan. Sandu Bay reaches out to all the major international shipping routes and has a promising future to become a national and international shipping center.
Here the coastline is long. The sea area round the regions of Sandu Bay covers 44,500 square meters and its coastline is 1,046 kilometers long. Both its deep-water coastline and water area are rare in the world. Among them, the water area of Sandu Bay covers 714 square kilometers. The deep-water area over 10 meters is 174 square kilometers. The main navigation route is 30-115 meters deep and good for planning over 150 berths each with a handling capacity of 30,000 tons and above. There are 61 shores in the Bay good for planning berths that have a capacity of ranging from 200,000 to 500,000 tons each. All this meets the world shipping tendency with large ships and deeper navigation routes.
Here the traffic communications are convenient. Now Shenyang- Hainan Expressway and Wenzhou-Fuzhou Railway run through Ningde and the harbor. Ningde-Shangrao Expressway via Wuyishan City is under speedy construction. Ningde-Quzhou Railway to connect Wuhan City will be started for construction next year. Fu’an (Ningde) -Taishun Expressway and Ningde-Taiwan direct shipping docks and other major transportation projects are under fast construction. In the near future Ningde will become one of the most convenient coastal exits for the southwest regions of Zhejiang Province as well as those inland provinces such as Jiangxi , Anhui, Hunan and Hubei.
Here the resources are abundant. There are fertile tidal flats, fresh water and power resources. The tidal flat area good for reclamation is about 500,000 mu and the total amount of fresh water reserve reaches 15 billion cubic meters. The total capacity of those projects of hydro-power, thermal power, and nuclear power, either in construction or operation, are added up to 13 million kilowatts. The projects of wind power, tidal power and pumping water for electricity are under planning. All this can guarantee the power supply for developing the coastal heavy chemical industries.
Here the scenery is attractive. The ecosystems are excellent with beautiful environment. There are forests, wetland, sea and ocean within the regions. One can find here combined scenery of coasts, natural views, cultures of history and religions as well as folk traditions. The green mountains and the blue sky reflect each other in Ningde and it is a golden resort for vacationing and Eco-tourism in the southeastern coast of China. For a long time, Sandu Bay has been an eye-catcher over the world for her unique glamour and magic attraction. During the Revolution of 1911, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Republic of China, listed Sandu Bay in his National Construction Strategy and praised it as “Rare in the world and unique in China” and planned to build it into a large oriental port. Mr.Guo Moruo, a literature giant for his generation, came to Sandu Bay twice and left a household poem “Fine harbor Sandu Bay finds no match in the world. The wide bay with deep water is like a sky lake”. With this magnificent Bay, the people of Ningde have been dreaming much and planning long. At the beginning of 2007, Ningde Municipal Party Committee and Government decided to carry out the development strategy for the regions round Sandu Bay based on the present situations and advantages, and started the planning and compiling of the regional development. In September 2008 Fujian Provincial Party Committee and Government formally approved The Development Plans for the Regions round Sandu Bay, which becomes a newest eye catcher in the development of the West Taiwan Straits Economic Zone. The general ideas of the strategy can be summarized in five points: Stick to the guidance by the scientific development views；highlight the two handles of projects-driven and famous-brands-driven economic development；push forward the three-step upgrading development of Ningde “near the sea, cross the sea and round the sea”；realize the four combined and mutual development of ports, cities, industries and ecosystems；go all out to build Sandu Bay regions of the West Taiwan Straits Economic Zone into: an interconnected frontier with the Yangtze River Delta, an important platform for cooperation with Taiwan, a new coastal industrial base and an important port hub and a green habitable coastal new city in the southeastern coast of China. The Plans divide the 9 counties (cities,districts)and the Overseas Chinese Economic Development Zone into core areas, overall areas and extended areas, all of which are included the Sandu Bay regions. The core areas will be planned according to their connected space and functions and put simply：“one line, three intensive gulf areas and four sections”. One line refers to the deep-water navigation route from Dongchongkou to Baimamen of the Saijiang River, along which the development ideas are to develop the cities through the ports nearby. The three gulf areas refer to those three intensive pieces of land with similar functions and separated from each other, namely, urban gulf, industrial gulf and tourism gulf. It is planned that the ports and the industries and urban areas interact and the coordinated development of the gulfs be realized. The four sections refer to the 3 coastal industrial parts of Xinan, Zhangwan, Saijiang and Jiaocheng, which are to be formed through their internal integration and traffic network reorganization.
After two years of operation and implementation, the development strategy for the Sandu Bay regions has been received with much consensus, and a very favorable atmosphere and momentum have propped up for the strategy which helps unite people’s mind, attract projects and promote business environment, and bring in a very fine driving effect in implementing and trying the favorable policies given by our Province. At present, Ningde Nuclear Power Station, with an investment of 90 billion yuan and a total installed capacity of 6 million kilowatts, is in full construction, Ningde Datang Thermal Power Plant, with a total installed capacity of 4.52 million kilowatts and an investment of 20 billion yuan has constructed three generators and begun operation；China National Offshore Oil Corp. has formally settled in Xinan Peninsula and planned 100 square kilometers of land for developing Ningde Petrochemical Industrial Park of the West Taiwan Strait Economic Zone ; Taiwan TECO Electric and Machinery Co. , Ltd. ,the third largest in the world also decided to invest in Fu’an ; Xiapu Taiwan Seafood Products Wholesale Center has been approved by the State Council and set up, where a “zero-tariff” policy for Taiwanese products is practiced for trial and experiment on a smaller scale. And projects of lithium ion batteries for cars from Japan , large-scale steel and iron ,nonferrous metals, large ships and yachts building, wind power generation equipment, petrol products, coal reserve and new resources and materials and so on have begun construction or in speedy preparation for construction. Projects drive development and opening up ushers in new opportunities. Not long again, the State Council issued The Several Outlines, which formally declares the support for the development of the West Taiwan Straits Economic Zone, therefore on a higher scale to expand the development space for the West Taiwan Strait Economic Zone. Meanwhile the Outlines also provide us the unprecedented historical opportunity to fasten the opening up, exploration and development of the Sandu Bay regions on a larger scale. Ningde is going through a tremendous change and the Sandu Bay regions will certainly develop into a golden corridor along the northeast of the West Taiwan Strait Economic Zone.
Dear leaders, guests and friends: development is always the main theme and cooperation is the foundation for success. Ningde, blessed with advantages of favorable time, geographic positions and harmonious personal connectivity, is encountering many chances for development and becoming a popular area for investment with the businessmen from all walks of life. Ningde is also turning into a platform for the causes to succeed and a land for happy living. We cordially and eagerly welcome those farsighted folks from home and abroad here either for seeing old friends, vacationing, inspections, investments or for businesses and so on together with us to sow seeds of hope and harvest the fruits and enjoy win-win cooperation. The door of friendship and cooperation in Ningde is always open to all the friends. We solemnly promise: we will ever stick to the idea that “the government creates the environment and the enterprises create wealth,” strengthen the measures favorable for development, construct the platforms helpful for starting new businesses, and expand the space conducive to win-win cooperation. We will go all out to make sure all of you stay safely, start business smoothly and live happily in Ningde.
Wish a success to the Tenth Investment and Trade Fair of the Sandu Bay Regions of Ningde Municipality of the West Taiwan Strait Economic Zone.
Wish all the best to the leaders, guests and friends.
Thank you.