The China SME International Cooperation & Communication Conference and 2020 Sino-German (Europe) SME Cooperation & Communication Conference (SMEC 2020) was held in Jinan, Shandong province from Nov 19-20.

More than 5,000 guests from more than 10 countries and regions took part in the event via both online and offline channels.

At the conference, agreements for a total of 11 projects were signed with countries and regions including Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

The projects, with a combined investment of 10.13 billion yuan ($1.54 billion), involved intelligent manufacturing industries such as electronic information, high-end equipment, biomedicine, and modern services.

The conference was jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Shandong Provincial People's Government.

The International Investment Promotion Industrial Park Intelligent Manufacturing Cluster project was also unveiled at the conference.

The park, located in the Jinan Innovation Zone, is meant to develop intelligent manufacturing industries such as high-end equipment manufacturing, auto parts, semiconductors, electronic information, and aerospace.

A number of Global Fortune 500 companies, including Bosch, Continental Electronics, Sysmex Corporation, Hengst, and BMTS Technology, have already launched branches in the park.

The SMEC has been annually held in Jinan since 2015 and was originally meant to strengthen cooperation between Jinan and Germany, but has since been expanded to include other European countries.

Over the years, the event has attracted more than 2,630 Chinese and foreign enterprises, and agreements for 94 projects have been signed.

It has provided an important channel for small and medium-sized enterprises from China, Germany, and the rest of Europe to pursue cooperation.

"Jinan is opening up at a rapid pace. The city's living environment is now up to international standards and investment is becoming easier," said Sebastian Valcic, a 32-year-old German who has worked in the Jinan Innovation Zone for over three years.