The West Coast New Area of Qingdao, Shandong province signed 58 key projects in the first quarter of 2020, with investments totaling a whopping 109.2 billion yuan ($15.45 billion), local authorities said.

The projects, focusing on emerging industries such as high-end manufacturing, artificial intelligence, new materials and marine engineering equipment, will inject new vitality into regional development and help replace old growth divers with new ones, according to local officials.

Qingdao officials attend an online signing ceremony amid the epidemic. [Photo/qingdaonews.com]

A total of 24 projects combining high-end manufacturing and artificial intelligence have been signed, with a total investment of 20.85 billion yuan.

Among them, a new materials project carrying a price tag of 500 million yuan will provide integrated supply chain services for new metal materials related to electronic circuits.

An engine parts project costing 350 million yuan will make use of world-class production technology to build a diesel high-pressure fuel injection pipeline system.

A new material car body project costing 60 million euros will develop and produce lightweight vehicle bodies for new energy vehicles, unmanned functional vehicles and logistics vehicles.

A total of 25 projects combining high-end equipment and new-generation information technology were signed, with an investment of 14.8 billion yuan.

Projects combining high-end equipment and new-generation information technology are signed during a video conference. [Photo/qingdaonews.com]

Among them, a high-end MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) intelligent sensor project with a total investment of 3 billion yuan will develop and produce 5G and high-end MEMS intelligent sensors which can meet the needs of reliable, fast and high-volume wireless communication transmission and massive machine communication under high-speed mobile conditions.

An international semiconductor industrial park, with a total investment of $300 million, will feature chips, robots, 5G intelligence and other cutting-edge technologies.

Six projects combining equipment support and information security were signed, with a total investment of 12 billion yuan. They mainly involve special equipment materials, information technology, network attack and defense, block chain, automatic equipment maintenance, and medical and health care, among other things.

Industrial parks, development zones and the district government have been ramping up efforts to boost cooperation and attract investment amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

Multilingual hotlines for investment and online channels have been opened to better serve entrepreneurs and investors from across the world.