East China's Shandong held an economic and trade cooperation exchange conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Dec 17, with nearly a hundred guests from China and Japan attending.

The event was also launched to celebrate the 20th-anniversary of the establishment of the Shandong Business Office (Japan).

In her speech, Consul Luo Xiaomei of the Chinese Embassy in Japan stated that Shandong is an important industrial center for China with close economic and trade relations with Japan. Over the past 20 years, the Shandong Business Office (Japan) has played an important role in promoting economic and trade exchanges between China and Japan, as well as local friendly exchanges, making significant contributions to enhancing cooperation between the two countries in fields such as economy and culture.

Luo expressed her hope that in the future, the office will play a greater role in advancing economic and trade cooperation between Shandong and Japan.

Shen Yuting, chief representative of the the Shandong Business Office (Japan), mentioned that Japan is an important economic and trade partner for Shandong. In the 20 years since the office was founded, Shandong's trade volume with Japan has risen from 10.7 billion yuan ($1.47 billion) in 2004 to 187.4 billion yuan in 2023. Shandong currently hosts over 1,600 Japanese-funded enterprises, including major companies such as Sumitomo Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Hitachi Group, which have succeeded in Shandong. She expressed hope for further deepening cooperation between the two sides in trade, investment, technology, and talent.

During the event, various cities in Shandong such as Qingdao, Yantai, Weihai, and Rizhao presented their economies and social development to the Chinese and Japanese guests.