As an emerging center of wealth management, eastern China's Qingdao city is expected to get a new boost by enhancing cooperation with financial institutions based in Shanghai, China's financial center.

Over a dozen financial institutions from Qingdao signed agreements with their counterparts in Shanghai at a celebration ceremony held on Jan 15, 2016. Participating institutions included Qingdao Bank, Qingdao.

"The development of the Qingdao wealth management zone will require support from top notch financial players from international financial centers like Shanghai, who in turn could generate dramatic growth from the opportunities of the zone's buildup process," said Li Qun, Party chief of Qingdao.

Qingdao was approved by the State Council in February 2014 to hold the Qingdao Wealth Management Financial Comprehensive Reform Pilot Area, the country's only wealth management financial zone.

Li said the city hopes to deepen cooperation with relative institutions in areas including innovative financial service reforms, deepen supply side structure reform, major infrastructure development, and social welfare projects, talent development and leverage the opportunity of Qingdao becoming the national wealth management financial reform zone to achieve mutual success.

Liu Xinyi, president of the SPD Bank, said they would actively facilitate the cooperation with Qingdao and strive to meet development demands of the city in capital supply and assets allocation.

"The city's financial strength has increased rapidly in recent years," said Li.

It is estimated that profits generated from Qingdao financial sector would reach 57 billion yuan in 2015, accounting for 6 percent of the city's gross domestic product. The financial sector profits are now 2.4 times higher than that of 2010.

By the end of 2015, there were 221 financial institutions operating in Qingdao, 1.5 times higher than 2010. In the meanwhile, the number of financial companies reached 500, doubling the number from five years ago.

"The city has enhanced cooperation with top-notch educational and R&D institutes to develop the talent crucial to success in wealth management," Li said.

The China Finance 40 Forum, a leading financial think-tank, is now making plans to build a financial academy in Qingdao. Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and Shandong University are setting up wealth management-related majors and research institutes.

International cooperation is also a key focus for Qingdao in building its wealth management zone, which features the trading of Korean won in Qingdao, with a surge of over-counter cash transactions in won-yuan exchange.