The Pearl River Delta is in decline, but the investment climate is improving at an astonishing rate in other coastal regions in China. The periphery of the Yangtze River Delta is now considered to be an excellent area for investment. In 2003, Qingdao in Shandong Province was rated by Taiwanese businesspeople as the city with the lowest investment risk.
珠三角褪色，大陸沿海其他地區的投資環境改善速度卻十分驚人，除了長三角週邊被評為優良外，二○○三年整體台商心目中投資風險最低的城市，竟是位於山東省的青島。