The province of Shandong is focusing on laying a solid foundation for the sustainable development of its new economic drivers, according to local authorities.

The province considers major construction projects an important means of converting old growth drivers into new ones. Over the past three years, Shandong has launched 1,577 projects for this purpose, receiving a total of 3.5 trillion yuan ($532.35 billion) in investment.

From January to August of this year, investment in new projects worth over 100 million yuan in Shandong increased by 27.6 percent.

By the end of August, 79.32 percent of the province's 1,795 key provincial-level projects had started construction. They received 423.3 billion yuan in investment, accounting for 63.9 percent of the province's annual plan.

In order to attract more high-quality projects, Shandong has been making strong efforts to further open up and attract investment, achieving remarkable results.

The Japan session of the "Connecting Shandong with the Fortune Global 500" serial event is held on Nov 10. [Photo/dzwww.com]

The China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone is currently home to 22,000 registered enterprises, while the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Demonstration Zone for Local Economic and Trade Cooperation in Qingdao has attracted 153 major projects, creating a strong platform for international cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and for forming cooperative relations in logistics, trade, investment, tourism, and culture.

The province has also hosted a series of high-level business promotional activities, including the Qingdao Multinationals Summit, the Conference of Great Business Partners, the International Summit on Innovation and Development for Young Entrepreneurs, the "Dialogue with Shandong – Japan · Shandong Industrial Cooperation and Exchange" event and the "Connecting Shandong with the Fortune Global 500" serial event.

In 2019, Shandong was home to over 2,000 newly-established foreign-invested enterprises and attracted 62 projects from the world's top 500 enterprises, with actual use of foreign capital exceeding $14 billion for the first time.

A high-end talent exchange event is held on Oct 14 in Jinan, capital of Shandong province. [Photo/dzwww.com]