Zhaoqing uses low rent, cheap labor to attract more industry

The city of Zhaoqing is expecting more factories and businesses in the auto parts, electronics and food processing industries to move to the city from Guangzhou in the months to come.

Zhaoqing mayor Chen Xudong said the city had laid the foundation for the development of the city's auto parts, electronics and food processing industries.

He said expansion of cooperation with Guangzhou is expected to help accelerate the city's construction.

"Zhaoqing has good infrastructural facilities and is eager to undertake the industrial transfer from the capital city of Guangdong province," Chen told an investment promotion conference for Zhaoqing city in Guangzhou on Monday.

"The co-operation will be a win-win deal, benefiting both sides," he said.

Located about 100 kilometers away from Guangzhou, Zhaoqing has rich land and natural resources, cheaper labor force and low production costs, creating great potential for economic growth, he added.

Guangzhou deputy mayor Ma Wentian said Zhaoqing has become a good destination for investment in Guangzhou.

Ma said he encouraged more companies in his city to set up their production facilities in Zhaoqing in the future.

Zhaoqing has attracted a total of 166 construction projects, worth 38.71 billion yuan ($5.61 billion) from Guangzhou since 2008.

These projects have involved equipment manufacturing, chemical, metal processing, machines and parts, food processing, electronics and service industries.

Situated in the western part of Guangdong province, Zhaoqing represents more than 30 percent of the total land area in the greater Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao bay area which also includes Guangdong cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Huizhou, plus Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

But rent for workshops in Zhaoqing is less than two-thirds of the average rent in other areas in the prosperous Pearl River delta. The city's electricity price is 10 percent lower than the Pearl River delta average while the city's lowest monthly salary is 789 yuan, less than in Shenzhen. Zhaoqing is linked to other major cities in the country by advanced high-speed railway and expressway networks.