To achieve its goal of becoming a leading area for green, low-carbon and high-quality development, Shandong province is pragmatically carrying out various tasks and taking solid steps toward becoming a strong province of socialism with modern characteristics in the new era.

On Feb 22, Japanese convenience store chain Lawson established its headquarters in Shandong and planned to open its first batch of stores in March.

On Feb 26, construction started on 1,007 provincial projects involving emerging fields such as digital economy, high-end equipment and "new three" industries — photovoltaics, lithium-ion batteries and new energy vehicles.

In 2023, Shandong's regional GDP surpassed 9 trillion yuan ($1.25 trillion), up 6 percent year-on-year. The per capita disposable income of residents grew by 6.2 percent, and over 1.2 million urban jobs were created. The province saw the addition of over 6,000 high-tech enterprises, with the total number exceeding 32,000. The installed capacity of new energy and renewable energy power generation exceeded 93 million kilowatts. Additionally, 138 provincial demonstration zones for rural vitalization and 2,000 beautiful villages were established.

Shandong is striving to develop a modern industrial system and accelerating the transformation of industries such as steel, chemical, non-ferrous, metallurgy, building materials and machinery. To date, about 87.3 percent of large-scale industrial enterprises have achieved digital transformation. 

The province is also working to reduce the consumption of products with high energy consumption and high emissions. For instance, last winter, Dongsheng village in Lijiahu town, Wucheng county, bid farewell to smoke and coal ash, ushering in the first geothermal heating season and benefiting over 400 households.

In addition, Shandong is continuously refreshing monitoring records in terms of PM2.5 average concentration, Yellow River main stream water quality and nearshore excellent water quality.

The province is also creating new beacons of opening-up and integrating into the Belt and Road Initiative. Shandong ranks fifth in the nation for actual utilization of foreign investment.

In 2023, Shandong's high-speed rail operating mileage reached 2,810 kilometers, ranking first in the country. The operating mileage of its expressways exceeded 8,400 kilometers. The China-Europe freight train service saw 2,566 trains running, a growth of 24.7 percent year-on-year.