The Information Office of the Tai’an Municipal People's Government held a press conference on April 28 to discuss its achievements during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period and to detail its goals for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period. The success of the 13th Five-Year Plan has provided a solid foundation for the high-quality development of the city's open economy, officials said.

Official statistics show that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, Tai'an has made use of $3 billion in foreign investment, with an average annual growth of 14.2 percent. The city’s total imports and exports value was 83.39 billion yuan ($12.89 billion), an increase of 8.4 percent year-on-year.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, officials said that the city's high-level opening-up efforts will continue to actively integrate the new "dual circulation" development pattern in which domestic and foreign markets reinforce one another, as well as the Belt and Road Initiative.

In order to increase investment attraction, officials said that Tai’an needs to focus on the transformation and upgrading of competitive industries, as well as the growth of emerging industries. The city should also invest in the cultural tourism, modern logistics, healthcare, and headquarters economy industries.

By 2025, Tai'an strives to have multinational companies or groups in the city invest in more than 30 projects. Tai'an will also focus on driving growth through international markets in multiple ways, particularly through the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Belt and Road Initiative.

The city will strive to have more than 1,000 import and export enterprises by 2025. Tai'an will also expand and cultivate a group of contracted enterprises with a certain scale and strong international competitiveness.

Officials added that efforts will be made to build overseas industrial parks with a high degree of relevance by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period. The city is also committed to promoting market-oriented reform and the construction of Tai'an Comprehensive Bonded Logistics Park. It will further integrate the surrounding logistics, warehousing, supervision, processing, as well as import and export trade to promote the development and growth of cross-border e-commerce and foreign trade industries.