Reform and Opening up Leads the Sharing of Opportunities in Shandong

Together with Business Associations, Shandong Accelerates the Creation of a New Highland for Opening up to the Outside World

This is one of the latest fruits scored by Shandong that cooperates with business associations:

On July 15, the 2nd Qingdao Multinationals Summit was grandly opened on the shore of Jiaozhou Bay in Qingdao, where heads of multinationals and representatives from assorted business associations from around the world gathered to seek new developmental opportunities and draw a new developmental picture. 96 foreign investment projects have been signed in the summit, with a total investment amount of USD 11.85 billion and contractual foreign investment amount of USD 5.02 billion.

Triggered by the wave of market economy, a wide array of chambers of commerce and industry associations become the link between local governments and enterprises. Shandong, as a large coastal province, has established close ties with business associations of various kinds, particularly with many foreign business associations.

Together with Business Associations, Shandong Accelerates the Creation of a New Highland for Opening up to the Outside World. In 2020, 3,060 new foreign-invested enterprises were established across the province, an increase of 21.6% year-on-year; the foreign investment amount of USD 17.65 billion was actually used, ranking No.4 in the country, an increase of 20.1% year-on-year, and the increasing range in Shandong is 15.6% higher than that in China as a whole. By the first half of this year, 1,499 new foreign-invested enterprises have been established in Shandong, an increase of 29.7% year-on-year; the amount of foreign investment amount in actual use is USD 11.22 billion, an increase of 75% year-on-year, and the increase range in Shandong is 41.1% higher than that in China as whole. In addition, Shandong ranks No. 1 among the first six provinces and cities as for the increasing range of foreign investment amount in actual use.

The new development pattern has been actively integrated into Shandong that spares no effort to create a first-class business environment, and constantly expand the new space for cooperation with multinationals and assorted business associations.

Openness pushes forward with reform, which then continues to release dividends. Since last year, Shandong has mapped out and introduced suggestions about deepening reform and innovation to create a new highland for opening up to the outside world, as well as a series of policies and initiatives like the adoption of 32 measures for stabilizing foreign trade and foreign investment and 20 tasks for utilizing foreign investment at a high level, and the implementation of the RCEP Advance Action Plan. Nowadays, in Shandong, the management system of pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list for foreign investment is fully implemented in terms of investment; cross-border trade facilitation is vigorously promoted, the process engineering carried out based on customs clearance, tax rebates and foreign exchange, and the innovation is made in "two declarations” (overview declaration and complete declaration), "declaration in advance", "electronic tax bureau" and other business models, with service efficiency greatly improved.

The construction of major platforms is accelerated, with obvious strategic superposition effect. “The construction of China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and China-Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Zone of Shanghai Cooperation Organization has been significantly accelerated, the institutional reform of development zone continuing to deepen, and the carrier role of major open platforms becoming more prominent. The amount of foreign investment amount of actual use in 'three zones’ is over 2/3 of that of the whole province." Cui Hongguang, deputy director of the Department of Commerce of Shandong Province, introduced.

Major economic and trade events are held innovatively, with obvious spillover effects. In the first half of this year alone, Shandong government held collective construction starting activities for major projects, collective signing ceremony for key foreign investment projects, advance meeting for deepening cooperation between Shandong and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, advance meeting for deepening Shandong's tie with global 500 or expanding its cooperation with the European Union, the second Qingdao Multinationals Summit and other major economic and trade activities, a total of 253 foreign investment projects signed, the total investment amount reaching USD 29.54 billion, and the contractual foreign investment amount reaching USD 11.37 billion.

A strong gathering magnetic field can take shape if foreign investment is introduced, retained and well-developed. In 2020, 345 foreign-invested enterprises invested an additional USD 4.84 billion in Shandong; in the first half of this year, the foreign investment amount in actual use in 16 cities witnessed a double-digit growth.

Currently, Shandong, with a more active stance, is integrating into the great international market, greater efforts made to reduce tariff, improve customs procedures and trade facilitation measures, and protect intellectual property rights in a comprehensive manner, etc., and the initiative of "attracting foreign businesses and investment, and appealing to talents and intelligent people" reaching an unprecedented scale. "In the current new development pattern, more market opportunities and industrial development opportunities will be brought in many industries and fields in Shandong, and member companies of chambers of commerce will better grasp these opportunities and better and further breed Shandong." said Ge Guorui, president of AmCham China.