Shandong province has focused on the construction of major open platforms to maintain stable growth in foreign trade and foreign investment, said local officials.

In the first half of this year, the actual use of foreign capital in Shandong province increased by 75 percent year-on-year, according to official statistics.

Over this period, the actual use of foreign capital in 160 development zones across Shandong province totaled $7.85 billion, up 83.4 percent year-on-year, accounting for 70 percent of the total amount of foreign capital actually used in Shandong.

Relying on key development zones, Shandong has made great efforts to cultivate international cooperation parks, carry out high-quality investment attraction, and form advantageous industrial clusters.

An auto project at the automobile and auto parts industrial park in Rizhao [Photo/iqilu.com]

At the automobile and auto parts industrial park in Rizhao, the WEY project of Great Wall Motor recently went into operation, with a total investment of 15 billion yuan ($2.32 billion).

WEY is a Chinese luxury SUV brand created by a global team of over 1,600 designers and researchers from Great Wall Motor with five-year efforts in line with the highest standards of global luxury brands.

The project in Rizhao is expected to produce 300,000 cars a year. This is currently the largest automobile industry project introduced by Rizhao.

The WEY project production line of Great Wall Motor in Rizhao, Shandong province [Photo/iqilu.com]

"The industrial agglomeration, as well as the foundation of upstream and downstream supporting facilities of the automobile and parts industrial park has a strong appeal in attracting vehicle projects," said a local official.

The automobile and auto parts industry is one of Rizhao's leading industries. However, in the past, it had been unable to attract whole vehicle projects due to an incomplete industrial chain.

Since 2018, Shandong has made great efforts to cultivate international cooperation parks. Measures and policies have been launched to encourage development zones with strong industrial foundations to increase investment attraction, as well as to create a platform for multinational companies to gather and cooperate.

With policy and financial support, the automobile and auto parts industrial park in Rizhao has attracted 20 Korean-owned auto parts companies, as well as fostered a complete industrial chain.

To date, the industrial park has attracted more than 40 projects, with the actual use of foreign capital reaching $3 billion.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period, Shandong will build 30 international cooperation parks to foster 100-billion-yuan-level industrial clusters in the automobile manufacturing, high-end equipment, electronic information, and construction machinery industries.