The province of Shandong in East China on March 18 inked a total of 94 key foreign invested projects with investments totaling $11.44 billion.

Involving a contracted foreign capital of $4.4 billion, the newly-signed projects cover high-end equipment manufacturing, new-generation information technology, new energy and new materials, medical care, modern agriculture and modern service industry. 

Local officials said these projects will contribute greatly to Shandong's efforts in replacing old growth drivers with new owns and advancing regional high-quality development.

Top officials of Shandong attend the online project signing ceremony on March 18 in Jinan, capital of Shandong province. [Photo/dzrb.dzng.com]

According the province's top authority, Shandong has beefed up efforts to implement national strategies and be integrated into the new development paradigm with domestic circulation as the mainstay and domestic and international circulations reinforcing each other.

The province has also launched a series of foreign exchange activities and continuously optimized the local business environment. This has led to greater optimism among global investors and an uptick in the number of businesses being set up in the province.

"The foreign-funded projects, with high technical content and good development prospects, will drive economic progress in Shandong," said a top official, before adding that local governments at all levels will offer one-stop services to ensure that the projects proceed smoothly.

Attendees attend the signing ceremony via online channels. [Photo/dzrb.dzng.com]

Shandong, as the only coastal province among the nine provinces in the Yellow River basin, has been making more efforts become a pioneer in reform and opening-up at a higher level.

Last year, the province held a series of high-profile business promotions to facilitate foreign trade, as well as further cooperation with Fortune 500 companies and major sources of foreign direct investment.

In 2020, the foreign trade of Shandong province increased by 7.5 percent year-on-year, hitting 2.2 trillion yuan (about $340.7 billion). There were 3,060 newly established foreign-funded enterprises in the province, an increase of 21 percent, while in the first two months of this year, 316 new foreign-funded enterprises were established, an increase of 31 percent year-on-year.