Weifang and Economic Trends

Weifang is a prefecture-level city located in the center of Shandong province. Neighbored to the south by Yishan Mountain, and to the north by the Bohai Sea, the city is also known as "the corridor of Eastern Shandong". With a population of 9 million and an area of 16,167 square kilometers, it has jurisdiction over 12 county-level divisions, including four districts, six county-level cities, and two counties.

As an important regional central city of the province and a major coastal city of the Circum-Bohai-Sea belt, Weifang is the transport junction of the Shandong Peninsula with developed sea, land, and air transport systems. The city has an advanced manufacturing industry, and solid foundation of traditional industries such as equipment manufacturing, automobile manufacturing, petrochemical and salt chemical industry, clothes manufacturing, food processing, and paper packaging. It has more than 150 development zones at the national and provincial levels and key industrial parks with complete infrastructure and preferential policies. These zones and parks are an important hub for foreign cooperation.

In 2021, the GDP reached 701 billion RMB, up 9.7% compared to the previous year, while the GDP per capita amounted to 75,600 RMB. The total value of Weifang’s international trade reached 265 billion RMB in 2021, with the exports amounting to 186 billion RMB and the total value of imports to 79 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.