The fifth Qingdao Multinationals Summit brings together more than 800 guests including government officials, executives of MNCs, and industry experts. [Photo by Gao Shengkai/for chinadaily.com.cn]

Sohn Kyung-shik, chairman of the South Korean CJ Group, stated that China is one of CJ Group's most important global markets. Since establishing a food factory in Qingdao, Shandong province in 1994, CJ has been dedicated to expanding its business in China.

Shandong province is a core area of focus for CJ Group in China, with investments totaling 9 billion yuan ($1.26 billion). It operates various businesses in the province, involving food, biotechnology, logistics, and cinemas. The company aims to continue expanding its food, biotech, and cultural businesses in the province, hoping to grow with Shandong and make continuous contributions to its economic development.

"Over the past two years, we have continuously increased our investment in manufacturing in China. In the last two years alone, we have invested over $1.2 billion to establish production and supply bases in the country. The most significant investments include the construction of a global production and supply base for inhalable aerosols in Qingdao. AstraZeneca, a UK company, will further increase its investment in the Qingdao production and supply base, bringing the total cumulative investment to $750 million," said Wang Lei, global executive vice-president of AstraZeneca and president of its China branch.

Wang added that due to the favorable business environment in Shandong and Qingdao, as well as top-notch government services, AstraZeneca developed rapidly in Shandong.

Running until Aug 29, the fifth Qingdao Multinationals Summit features 140 Fortune Global 500 companies, 311 industry-leading enterprises, and 99 MNCs participating for the first time.