March 13, 2007 -- Guiyang mayor Zhou Yuan came to Shanghai today, to make a pitch for his city as a business destination. According to the mayor, the city has embraced economic development, as evidenced by the fact that its GDP last year reached a record RMB 60.2 billion (US$ 7.7 billion).

Over the next five years, the city hopes to attract investors to aluminium and phosphorus industrial bases to take advantage of the natural presence of those resources, said the mayor. In addition, the city welcomes investors to participate in tobacco, food and beverage, pharmaceutical packaging, electrical products and auto parts processing projects, said the mayor.

"I would like to welcome foreign and domestic enterprises in Shanghai and Yangtze River Delta regions to Guiyang for cooperation in auto parts, big CNC machine, engineering machinery, optical mechanical and integration parts, and machinery foundation parts," Zhou said at the conference.

Guiyang's four railways, eight highways and an international airport with annual passenger flow of 5 million makes the city a transportation and telecommunication hub, the mayor said.

However, the city still needs to upgrade government services and upgrade many facilities, he said, adding that his goal was to create a city where doing business was as efficient and frictionless as possible.

"We are firmly committed to the principle that integrity is basic and good service is of supreme importance," he said.

This means that there are opportunities in areas such as infrastructure development, construction of civic and public facilities, logistics, finance, insurance and other service industries, he said.

Meanwhile, the city also has something to offer to the families of businesspeople and executives who move to the area.

The region boasts of natural beauty and temperate climate, as well as culture and other lifestyle benefits. Guiyang is a mountainous city surrounded by forests and its subtropical climate features no extreme heat in the summer and no severe coldness in the winter. With its annual average temperature of 15.3°C (59.5°F), Guiyang is the "China's Summer Vacation Capital," Zhou said.

In fact, tourism is another industry that the city is anxious to develop.

Mayor Zhou invited foreign and domestic investors and tourism entrepreneurs to help make the city a destination of choice.