Enterprises in Shandong province steadily implement the strategy of “going out". There is a huge demand for infrastructure construction in countries and regions along the Belt and Road, which provides a significant opportunity for Shandong’s enterprises to go global. By the end of 2017, 5,689 registered and approved overseas businesses and companies settled in Shandong with an investment of $85.12 billion from the Chinese side. Different business indices have ranked Shandong’s foreign contract projects and labor cooperation at the forefront in China for many years. By the end of 2017, the total value of completed foreign contract projects was $87.1 billion, with 925,000 workers positioned abroad.

Tourist reception service center of the Qingdao International Horticultural Exposition Park built by Qingjian Group Co Ltd. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Foreign contract projects

Shandong province shows great competitiveness when it comes to large-scale foreign contract projects in all fields. Seven Shandong enterprises were included on a list of the world's top 250 international contractors in 2017 prepared by Engineering News Records (ENR). They included Qingjian Group Co Ltd, China Shandong Economic & Technical Cooperation Group Ltd (SCI), Yanjian Group Co Ltd, Sinopec Petroleum Engineering & Construction Shengli Corporation (“SPECSL”) , Shandong Dejian Group Co Ltd, Yantai International Economic & Technical Cooperation Group Co Ltd and Shandong Zijian Group Co Ltd. The figure of seven puts Shandong among the top provinces as it’s a solid share of the 68 Chinese enterprises on the list.

Photo shows the Lesotho Parliament Building aided by Yanjian Group Co Ltd. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Foreign Service labor cooperation

Shandong is also known for its human resources. Its people enjoy a good reputation for being honest and trustworthy, hard-working and diligent. In addition to paying attention to the quality training of the overseas service and management team, Shandong province standardizes its market order and has established a service platform for foreign labor cooperation, a measure that makes Shandong a well-known brand in overseas work.

There are more than 130 qualified enterprises and over 60 service platforms in Shandong that specialize in foreign labor for Chinese workers. They send about 50,000 people annually involved in construction, processing and manufacturing, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, catering services and other industries to Japan, Singapore, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and other countries and regions.

Cotton field of Cubbie Station farm, Australia owned by Shandong Ruyi Group [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]