CONFIDENTIAL
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Kong investments, largely in the form of joint ventures, were mainly found in textiles and garments, watch assembly and food processing industries.
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Visit Activities in Dalian, 16 October (Wednesday)
Meeting with the Mayor of Dalian
45.
The delegation flew to Dalian in the afternoon. Having seen the beautiful
European style buildings in Qingdao, downtown Dalian was a striking contrast. On our way
from the airport to the hotel, we saw many depressingly large and grim industrial enterprises
intermingling with residential buildings. An unusual feature not noticed in our previous visits
to China was that many of the industrial establishments had a tall solitary chimney within
their compound which we learned later was connected with the burning of coal for heating during winter. This would no doubt further aggravate the city's pollution problem. We also noticed from our hotel on one morning a thick layer of dark smog skimming the Dalian city
skyline.
46.
During a briefing given by Mr. Wei Fuhai ( 魏富海 ), the Mayor of Dalian, before a dinner he hosted in the evening, we were told that Dalian was a sea port, an industrial city and a tourist centre. In terms of the volume of cargo, Dalian was ranked third among the 14 coastal cities, after Shanghai and Qinhuangdao. However in terms of foreign trade, which amounted to 38 million tonnes in 1990, Dalian should rank first.
47.
We were told that there were more than 3 000 industrial enterprises in Dalian which turned out a diversity of products. A total of 705 foreign-funded enterprises were in operation with a total realised direct foreign investment of US$1.9 billion. The Mayor emphasized that he was more concerned with improving the investment environment of Dalian and looking after the well being of foreign investments in the city than signing new
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