"Connecting Shandong with Fortune Global 500 & Deepening Shandong-EU Cooperation" sponsored by the Shandong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the People's Government of Shandong Province and undertaken by the Shandong Provincial Department of Commerce will be held in Jinan on June 18. The purpose of the event is to promote cooperation between Shandong and the EU's Fortune Global 500 and other multinational companies to help build a new highland for Shandong to open up.

The reporter learned from the Shandong Provincial Department of Commerce that this event will be continued to be conducted in a combination of "online + offline" ways. The main venue was set up offline in the Golden Hall of Shandong Building. About 300 people including provincial leaders, heads of relevant provincial departments, heads of large provincial enterprises, representatives of Fortune Global 500, heads of some enterprises invested in Shandong, and media reporters attended the meeting; branch venues were set up in 16 cities, each city's party committees, government leaders, relevant departments, and heads of enterprises invested by EU in local areas attended the meeting. Representatives from Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders, business associations, and representative organizations from EU countries participate online through the video conference system.

According to the Shandong Provincial Department of Commerce, the preparatory work for the event is currently proceeding orderly. Guests have been invited to give video speeches, including VARGA Mihaly, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Hubert Aiwanger, Deputy Governor and Minister of Economy of Bavaria, Germany, and Jörg Wuttke, President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China; Situ Che, Chairman of the Executive Board of Continental AG, Marco Tronchetti Provera, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Pirelli Group and Meng Haowen, Senior Vice President of Saint-Gobain of France and other leaders of Fortune Global 500 companies will have video dialogues with provincial leaders. At the same time, key provincial projects will be signed during the event.

Shandong has a long history of cooperation with the EU. In terms of attracting investment from the EU, as of the end of 2019, the EU had 894 existing enterprises in our province with actual use of foreign capital of USD 4.526 billion. More than 60 European Fortune Global 500 companies including Bosch, Continental, Siemens, MAN, Linde, Air Liquide, EDF, and Pirelli have successively invested in 180 projects in Shandong. In 2020, 120 new EU-invested enterprises were established, with the actual use of foreign capital of USD 380 million. In terms of investment of the EU, as of April 2021, Shandong has filed and approved 315 enterprises (institutions) invested abroad by the EU, and the filed and approved Chinese investment was USD 12.23 billion. In terms of bilateral trade, in 2020, the EU became Shandong's third largest trading partner. Its imports and exports to the EU were RMB 232.25 billion, a year-on-year increase of 14.8%. In the first quarter of 2021, Shandong's imports and exports to the EU were RMB 62.1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 42%. Based on this, and taking this event as an opportunity, Shandong and the EU will launch a new round of cooperation and jointly draw up a new blueprint for development.

In addition, the "Connecting Shandong with Fortune Global 500 & Deepening Shandong-EU Cooperation" will be broadcast live to the world through the official website of connecting Shandong and the Fortune Global 500, WWW.DZWWW.COM, Qilu Yidian, Select Shandong and other platforms.