On March 17, Hengli Group signed three cooperation agreements with the city of Dalian to establish Dalian Shipping Co., Ltd., and to invest in the construction of a marine power systems industrial park and a polyester new materials industrial park on Changxing Island in Dalian.

The Dalian municipal government signed a framework cooperation agreement with Hengli Group and foreign investors to jointly establish Dalian Shipping Co., Ltd., with investment from Hengli Group, state-owned capital at both the provincial and municipal levels, as well as Singapore-based enterprises.

Dalian once operated fleets for oil transportation, specialized roll-on/roll-off passenger services in the Bohai Sea, distant-water fishing, and chemical transportation. However, due to strategic adjustments by companies and other factors, its shipping capacity has declined in recent years. Provincial authorities, aiming to build a strong maritime economy and a high-level platform for opening-up and cooperation, are supporting efforts to leverage Dalian’s geographic advantages and resource endowment to expand into deep-sea industries. Plans are underway to attract private and foreign capital to participate in fleet development, improve the modern shipping services system, and accelerate the development of Dalian as a Northeast Asia international shipping and logistics hub, while enhancing its core functions and regional influence.

Dalian Shipping Co., Ltd. completed its registration on the same day. The company is located in Zhongshan District, Dalian, Liaoning Province, and is wholly owned by Suzhou Zhongkun Investment Co., Ltd. Founded in 2014, Suzhou Zhongkun Investment Co., Ltd. is an affiliated company of Hengli Group. Its ultimate controlling parties are Chen Jianhua and Fan Hongwei, the founding couple of Hengli Group.

Hengli Group stated that it will focus on core businesses including fleet development, as well as port investment, construction, and operations. Through a combination of new vessel construction and chartering, the company aims to rapidly expand its fleet capacity and build a specialized fleet primarily focused on bulk cargo, featuring multiple vessel types and integrated domestic and international operations. It also plans to establish a global shipping network to provide efficient and convenient port and shipping services for Northeast China and eastern Inner Mongolia.

At the same time, the company will deepen cooperation with the Dalian municipal government in areas such as port resource development and the operation of specialized terminals, aiming to achieve resource integration and complementary advantages. These efforts are expected to support the development of a major sea-land transportation corridor in Northeast China and enhance the overall coordination and competitiveness of the province’s port cluster.

Dalian will use this initiative as an opportunity to advance the integration of shipping, port, and logistics services, as well as the development of interconnected transport corridors and hub networks. The city aims to optimize services, improve efficiency, reduce costs, and promote the high-quality integration of port, industry, and urban development, while accelerating the growth of its hub economy and marine economy and further elevating its level of openness.

Hengli Group has been operating in Liaoning for 16 years and has invested a total of 360 billion yuan in Changxing Island, Dalian, forming an industrial framework that integrates green petrochemicals with high-end shipbuilding and offshore engineering equipment manufacturing, and creating nearly 100,000 jobs.

The two industrial park projects newly launched by Hengli Group on Changxing Island represent a combined investment of approximately 16.5 billion yuan. Once fully operational, they are expected to generate an additional annual output value of 35 billion yuan.

Among them, the Hengli Marine Power Systems Industrial Park will focus on key supporting sectors such as marine engines, helping to address gaps in core ship power systems in Dalian and across Liaoning Province, and advancing the shipbuilding and offshore engineering equipment industry toward greater self-sufficiency across the entire industrial chain.

Meanwhile, the Hengli Polyester New Materials Industrial Park will leverage the raw material supply advantages of the Changxing Island petrochemical base to extend into downstream high-end polyester and other advanced materials, driving the transformation and upgrading of the petrochemical sector from basic chemicals to high-end specialty chemicals.

Once completed and operational, the two projects are expected to significantly enhance the province’s capabilities in producing critical components for shipbuilding and offshore engineering, as well as its capacity for independent innovation in advanced materials. They are also seen as important for safeguarding national industrial security, accelerating the development of new quality productive forces, and building a modern industrial system with distinctive regional strengths.