Yantai and Economic Trends

Yantai is a coastal prefecture-level city located in northeastern Shandong province, and was one of the earliest cities in northern China to open its commercial port. It lies along the Yellow and Bohai seas, boasting 230 offshore islands and seven natural bays. Yantai covers an area of 13,864 square kilometers with a population of 7 million and has jurisdiction over 12 county-level divisions, including 5 districts, 6 county-level cities, and one development zone.

Yantai is an important center in the Bohai Economic Rim area, one of China's largest economic circles. It serves as a logistics hub connecting the Beijing-Tianjin Economic Circle and Yangtze River Delta. It is also a gateway city to Japan and South Korea. The Yantai Area of the China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, built in August, 2019, is also helping the city become more open in investment, finance, education and medicine. The city is home to a large number of auto parts manufacturers, as well as companies specializing in logistics, shipbuilding and marine technology, chemical, electronics and IT, and agro-food.

In 2021, the GDP reached 871 billion RMB, up 8% compared to the previous year, while the GDP per capita amounted to 122,700 RMB. The total value of Yantai’s international trade reached 411 billion RMB in 2021, with the exports amounting to 244 billion RMB and the total value of imports to 167 billion RMB.

The Chinese City Tier System consists of a system of tiers used by analysts to classify Chinese cities and rank them in a hierarchy. Cities in different tiers reflect differences in consumer behaviour, income level, population size, consumer sophistication, infrastructure, talent pool, and business opportunity.