The first plant at the BASF Verbund site in Zhanjiang begins operation in early September. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Also, the annual industrial output value of some advanced manufacturing clusters, such as green steel making, high-end paper making and green energy, is about to reach 100 billion yuan, respectively.

At present, Zhanjiang is striving to build itself into a subcenter of Guangdong, and an important growth point of a modern coastal economic belt of the province by integrating industrialization and digitalization with ecology and highlighting the construction of big industrial parks, the development of big cultural tourism and application of big data.

From 2012 to 2021, Zhanjiang's GDP increased from 190 billion yuan to nearly 356 billion yuan, and the fixed-asset investment rose from 57.23 billion yuan to 137.6 billion yuan.

Located in the southernmost part of the Chinese mainland, Zhanjiang is one of the first 14 open coastal cities and serves as a pivot of maritime cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative framework.

It is also a national marine economic development demonstration zone, a national comprehensive transportation hub and a central city of the Beibu Gulf.

Zhanjiang is an important gateway for Guangdong to connect with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations members. It is also located at the intersection of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, Hainan Free Trade Port and the Beibu Gulf city cluster.

"The city will give full play to its geographical advantages, and actively build a new highland for opening-up in China," Liu Hongbing, Party secretary of Zhanjiang, told local media.

It is planning to build an industrial park covering around 620 square kilometers, which is designed to be the largest of its kind in the province. The park will focus on the cultivation of 100-billion-yuan industrial clusters of green steel, green petrochemical and advanced materials. It will also develop automobile and green energy industries.