East China's Shandong province showcased its economic and social changes and promoted cooperation during the 2019 China Enterprise Reform and Development Forum, which was held in Jinan, the province's capital, from Nov 2 to 4.

According to authorities, this was the first time the event was held outside Beijing. More than 1,400 people from China's centrally administered state-owned enterprises, leaders from well-known private enterprises, experts, and scholars participated in the event.

"Shandong's business environment is getting better and better, and it is beginning to lead the country by stepping up efforts to replace old economic growth drivers with new ones," said Wang Tongzhou, president of China Nonferrous Metal Mining Co.

"I'm impressed by the Shandong government's determination to implement reform and boost high-quality development," said Bai Zhongquan, president of China XD Group, "Shandong has entered a new era of development and we want a piece of the pie."

The 2019 China Enterprise Reform and Development Forum opens on Nov 3 in Jinan, capital of Shandong province. [Photo by Guo Xulei/Xinhua]

Shandong has a complete range of industries and a solid foundation for a real economy, while SOEs boast advanced technology, abundant capital, and more. There is broad space for cooperation between the two sides, local officials said.

The forum brought about opportunities for cooperation between Shandong-based enterprises and SOEs, which is expected to boost Shandong's high-quality development.

"Inspur has already cooperated with more than 70 SOEs that attended the forum, and the event has given us an opportunity to deepen cooperation," said Hu Haigen, vice president of Inspur Group, a leading cloud computing solutions and services provider based in Jinan.

"This forum will generate more cooperation opportunities for Shandong," said Li Daokui, chief economist of the New Development Bank and director of the Academic Center for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking at Tsinghua University.

"I believe that Shandong will lead China's push for a new economic development pattern led by new growth drivers."

A total of 48 industrial project deals were signed during the forum.