Shandong province has been ramping up efforts to boost cooperation and facilitate investment from EU countries in the post-pandemic era, said local officials.

The "Connecting Shandong with Fortune Global 500 & Deepening Shandong-EU Cooperation" event is held on June 18. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The "Connecting Shandong with Fortune Global 500 & Deepening Shandong-EU Cooperation" event was held on June 18 via both online and offline channels, with the main venue situated in Jinan, capital of Shandong province.

Hosted by the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee and the Shandong Provincial People's Government, the event is part of the province's efforts to participate in and contribute to the new dual-circulation development pattern of the country, as well as strengthen opening-up.

Representatives from well-known multinational companies, business associations, and EU-funded enterprises in Shandong took part in the event to seek more cooperation opportunities.

Liu Jiayi, Party chief of Shandong province, delivers a speech during the event. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

During the event, Liu Jiayi, Party chief of Shandong province, had an online conversation with Nikolai Seizer, executive board chairman of Continental AG.

Liu said that Shandong is a major economic and cultural powerhouse on the eastern coast of China and has maintained steady economic and social development in recent years.

He pointed out that Shandong has a developed automobile industry, complete supporting system, broad development space and promising prospects for the sector.

Continental AG is the world's leading supplier of technology automotive accessories, he said, expressing hope that Continental AG and Shandong enterprises will strengthen cooperation in various fields.

"We will, as always, create a sound environment, provide quality services and push our cooperation for new and greater outcomes," said Liu.

Setzer said that his company has established good cooperative relations with many Shandong enterprises, and its investment and development in Shandong have been progressing smoothly.

"Continental AG will further increase its investment in Shandong and strive to achieve mutual benefit and win-win cooperation," said Setzer.

Li Ganjie, governor of Shandong, delivers a speech during the event. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Li Ganjie, governor of Shandong, said in his speech that the EU is an important economic and trade partner of Shandong and that bilateral cooperation between the two sides has been fruitful.

"We are ready to seize the opportunities generated by this event to further promote two-way investment, expand economic and trade exchanges, deepen scientific and technological innovation, and expand third-party markets, so as to take our cooperation to a new level," said Li.

Official statistics showed that in 2020, the province's trade with EU reached 232.25 billion yuan ($35.91 billion), up 14.8 percent year-on-year. From January to May this year, Shandong's import and export volume to the EU stood at 106.55 billion yuan, up 33.3 percent.

By May 2021, Shandong had registered and approved 315 enterprises (institutions) for overseas investment in the EU, with the total amount of Chinese investment amounting to $12.23 billion.

A total of 22 key foreign-funded projects worth $1.14 billion in investments were signed during the event.

Representatives from well-known multinational companies, business associations and government departments deliver speeches during the event. [Photo/dzrb.dzng.com]

A total of 22 key foreign-funded projects are signed during the event. [Photo/dzrb.dzng.com]