The opening ceremony of the third Conference of Great Business Partners was held on March 29 in Jinan, capital of Shandong province, during which the signing ceremony for key investment and talent cooperation projects were held.

A total of 444 industrial projects were signed, including 112 foreign-funded ones, with a combined investment of $21.21 billion, and 257 domestically funded ones, with a total investment of 546.22 billion yuan ($79.32 billion).

There were 236 manufacturing projects, mainly in emerging industries like new energy, new materials, high-end equipment manufacturing, and new-generation information technology.

Shandong also signed 75 national and provincial talent cooperation projects with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and overseas institutions.

The third Conference of Great Business Partners is held in Jinan, Shandong province from March 28 to 30. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Chen Liren, honorary chairman of the Tan Kah Kee Education Foundation, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Liu Qingfeng, founder and chairman of IFlytek, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Holger Klein, Chief Executive Officer of the ZF Group, delivers a speech at the opening ceremony. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The signing ceremony for key investment and talent cooperation projects is held. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]