The Rongcheng Economic Development Zone was approved as a provincial-level economic and technological development zone by the People’s Government of Shandong Province in December 1992. It was the first development zone in northern China established with funding from a county-level city and is one of the key development zones in Shandong Province’s plan for export-oriented economic development. Following approval by the provincial government, the Rongcheng Economic Development Zone underwent institutional restructuring on May 15, 2006.The Rongcheng Economic Development Zone administers four subdistrict offices—Yatou, Xunshan, Laoshan, and Chengxi—as well as 10 functional bureaus and two municipal-level agencies. It covers an area of 227 square kilometers, has a population of 180,000, and oversees 131 village committees and 21 neighborhood committees.In 1992, just one year after its establishment, the Rongcheng Economic Development Zone was ranked among the first batch of provincial-level key development zones. To date, it has consistently ranked among the top ten provincial-level development zones for over a decade, placing fourth in 2013.From January to September 2014, the district generated 2.6 billion yuan in public fiscal revenue, a year-on-year increase of 19.99%; completed 28.69 billion yuan in fixed-asset investment, a year-on-year increase of 32%; attracted 27.46 million USD in actual foreign investment, a year-on-year increase of 73.7%; and achieved 1.36 billion USD in imports and exports, a year-on-year increase of 6%.