Qingdao, an economic powerhouse with strong manufacturing strength that is located in the eastern coastal area of Shandong province, has been a major magnet for foreign investors in China.

According to statistics from the Qingdao Market Supervision Bureau, by the end of March 2022, Qingdao had 13,924 foreign-funded enterprises, which is an increase of 1.38 percent year-on-year.

The coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province is home to a large number of foreign-funded enterprises. [Photo/VCG]

In the first quarter of 2022, the city had 160 newly established foreign-funded enterprises with registered capital of $2.01 billion. Among them, there were 52 enterprises each with registered capital of more than 10 million yuan ($1.57 million), accounting for 32.5 percent of the total number of newly established foreign-funded enterprises.

The overwhelming majority of the newly established foreign-funded enterprises are engaged in the tertiary industry, laying a solid foundation for accelerating industrial transformation and upgrading and promoting employment, local officials said.

The Qingdao government has launched a slew of measures to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic and keep steady progress in foreign trade and investment. Online service platforms and special teams have been set up in the city to help solve problems such as shortages of anti-epidemic supplies and raw materials.

Despite the COVID-19 epidemic, China's business environment has further improved this year with the implementation of foreign investment law and the unveiling of a much shorter negative list, according to a report recently released by the Ministry of Commerce.

Container ships dock at Qingdao Port in Shandong province. [Photo/IC]