Workers man an assembly line at an auto factory in Qingzhou, Shandong. WANG JILIN/FOR CHINA DAILY

In recent years, Shandong has been ramping up efforts to integrate its own development into the overall opening-up of the country, promote reform, innovation and growth through opening-up, and build a new highland of opening-up.

The province has been working actively to contribute to a new development paradigm in China. With a focus on unblocking internal and external circulation, it has issued a guideline to accelerate the construction of a modern logistics system.

To seize the opportunities arising from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement and explore new areas for international cooperation, it has issued an action plan to promote the implementation of the RCEP agreement.

Shandong has also been promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation. In 2021, its imports and exports values with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative increased by 40.8 percent.

The province continues to take measures to stabilize foreign trade and foreign investments.

Detailed measures, including fiscal and financial support for foreign trade companies as well as incentives for new forms of businesses in foreign trade, have been implemented to support medium, small and micro-sized foreign trade companies.

In 2021, the province's volume of imports and exports reached nearly 3 trillion yuan ($450.9 billion), and the actual utilization of foreign investment exceeded $20 billion for the first time.

The province has hosted a series of activities to deepen exchanges and cooperation with multinational companies. It hosted two editions of the Qingdao Multinationals Summit, which had more than 1,000 Fortune 500 companies and industry leaders from more than 80 countries and regions in attendance.