Shandong aims high to expand opening-up

Province to host second Conference of Great Business Partners across cities

A mega investment promotion event kicks off in East China’s Shandong on Tuesday, as part of the province’s efforts to further expand its opening-up and shore up highquality development.

Attaching great importance to bringing in investment, collaborations with Hong Kong and Macao and win-win cooperation with multiple partners, the second Conference of Great Business Partners and International Summit on Innovation and Development of Youth Entrepreneurs are Shandong’s first high-level activities this year for opening-up and investment, said Ren Airong, vice-governor of Shandong province. She made the remarks at a news conference held on June 23.

Ren also serves as the deputy director of the organizing committee of the conference.

Under the context of the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, the conference is expected to deepen communication and exchanges with investors at home and abroad, strengthen investor confidence in Shandong, expand new fields for cooperation and stabilize the industrial and supply chains, Ren said.

With its main venue set up in Jinan, the conference features online project promotions in 16 cities across Shandong province, including Qingdao, Yantai, Rizhao, Liaocheng, Weihai and Dongying.

“The conference is rich in content and innovative form. In fact, it is an online investment attraction day for the whole province,” Ren said.

To guarantee a successful conference, Shandong has made a great deal of preparation in inviting guests and enterprises and selecting projects.

A total of 3,545 corporate guests have been approved to take part as of June 22, of which 219 were from the world’s top 500 enterprises, 193 from China’s top 500 companies, 999 from industry-leading companies and 356 from startups.

A total of 1,885 guests are engaged in Shandong’s top 10 industries, which are new-generation information technology, high-end equipment, new energy and new materials, modern marine industry, healthcare, green chemicals, modern agriculture, cultural creativity, tourism and modern finance.

With an aim to forge new economic growth drivers, the province selected 312 quality projects for inviting investment at the second Conference of Great Business Partners and International Summit on Innovation and Development of Youth Entrepreneurs.

These projects cover a wide range of areas including major infrastructure, Shandong’s top 10 industries and industrial technology upgrading, demonstrating Shandong’s determination to replace old economic growth drivers with new ones and bringing in high-quality investment, Ren said.

A total of 129 selected projects are from Shandong’s top 10 industries, accounting for 41.3 percent of the total. And projects from emerging industries account for nearly 70 percent of the total, with 56 projects covering 5G, big data and industrial internet.

To meet the requirements of epidemic prevention and control, Shandong has developed a complete virus prevention and control system to guarantee participants’ safety.

The main venue in Jinan will be disinfected and all the attendees, reporters and staff members will be given nucleic acid tests before the conference.

PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY The urban area of Jinan, the capital city of Shandong province, which is rich in historical and modern architecture, embodies how the province has balanced its development with its storied past.

From left: Robots assemble a car at the SAIC Motor factory in Yantai, Shandong province. The CIMC Raffles shipyard in Yantai features the world’s largest gantry crane.