Qingdao expands cooperation with Shanghai

A Party and government delegation from Qingdao, Shandong province, led by Wang Qingxian, Party Chief of Qingdao, visited Shanghai on July 7, to learn about the city's practices in modern services.

An exchange and cooperation meeting was held on July 8, gathering more than 500 participants from Shanghai government departments, business associations and enterprises related to the finance, shipping and exhibition industries.

Two strategic cooperation projects and 21 investment projects were signed at the meeting, covering cultural creativity, new economy and new infrastructure, finance and equity investment, new retail, internet industry headquarters, trade and logistics and other fields, with a total planned investment of 35.6 billion yuan ($5.08 billion).

During his keynote speech, Wang highlighted Qingdao's sound industrial foundation, favorable business environment and competitive strength in innovation, transportation, talent and international trade.

Wang said that Qingdao has been accelerating the replacement of old growth drivers with new ones and propelling the upgrading of traditional manufacturing industry by enhancing modern services.

He added that Shanghai boasts competitive global resource allocation capacity and a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment. He pointed out that Shanghai's modern service industry is at the forefront of the country and even the world.

Wang said that Qingdao will learn from Shanghai's efforts and innovative approaches to accelerate the construction of a high-quality, efficient, dynamic and competitive industrial system in Qingdao, and build Qingdao into a modern service center in northern China.

He also expressed his hope that Shanghai will give support to the development of Qingdao's modern service industry.