Jinan, capital city of East China's Shandong province, signed a total of 39 projects worth 139.5 billion yuan ($20.8 billion) with centrally-administered State-owned enterprises at a cooperative conference in Beijing on May 23.

Hosted by the Jinan government, the conference attracted 500 participants from more than 50 State-owned enterprises and over 200 renowned companies.

The 39 projects were mainly involved in high-end modern industries such as headquarters economy, intelligent manufacturing and high-end equipment, biomedicine, industrial finance, smart city and modern agriculture.

Wang Zhonglin, Party secretary of Jinan, delivered a keynote speech and emphasized the important role that State-owned enterprises played in promoting the development of local economy.

The city has cooperated extensively with State-owned enterprises in infrastructure, new energy, intelligent manufacturing, biomedicine and modern agriculture sectors.

Wang also detailed Jinan's geographical advantages, leading industries and preferential policies to further promote mutual cooperation.

Jinan serves as a transportation hub in northern China. It is well-connected to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in the north and near the Yangtze River Delta in the south.

The city is also home to high-end science and technology companies, offering a strong foundation for the development of State-owned enterprises.

By providing a fairer and more convenient investment environment, the government hopes to attract more centrally-administered State-owned enterprises to set up headquarters in the city.