The Third Qingdao Multinationals Summit kicked off on June 19 in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Third Qingdao Multinationals Summit kicked off on June 19 in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province, confirming China's determination to promote a higher level of opening-up and share development opportunities with multinational companies.

Jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce and the Shandong People's Government, the summit attracted over 5,000 participants via both online and offline channels, including global magnates from 186 Fortune 500 companies and 290 industry leaders, representatives from international business and commercial organizations and government officials, as well as experts and scholars.

Focusing on cooperation between transnational corporations and China, the summit offers a high-end platform for foreign companies to explore opportunities brought about by China's new round of high-level opening-up, unveil a new chapter of win-win cooperation and inject a strong dose of vitality into China's economic growth, as well as the world’s.

The summit has received warm responses from envoys of countries and regions, international organizations, multinational corporations and business associations.

In response to common challenges faced by all parties, the summit has formulated six topics that focus on global industrial and supply chains, the implementation and effectiveness of the RCEP agreement, innovation in economic and social development, ecological protection, green and low-carbon transformation and intellectual property rights and the business environment.

It provides an efficient communication channel and exchange platform for multinational companies, industry, commerce and political and academic circles to interpret policies, share information and solicit suggestions on the formulation and implementation of specific measures, organizers said.

The summit, which will last through June 21, has an extensive agenda. It covers 44 activities in 14 categories, 35 of which will be held during the summit.

Shandong is beefing up efforts to become a beacon in the country’s opening-up and attract more investment from Fortune 500 companies.

In 2021, the actual use of foreign investment in Shandong exceeded $20 billion for the first time, accounting for 12.4 percent of the national total thanks to a series of major business promotional events held in Shandong and the continuous optimization of the investment environment.

Last year, 33 Fortune 500 companies invested in 69 projects in Shandong, including 49 newly added enterprises and 20 capital-increased enterprises. Five of the top Fortune 500 companies invested in Shandong for the first time in 2021.