Shandong's global strategy generates rapid growth

Shandong, as one of China's first coastal provinces to implement the national strategy of opening-up, has long had an optimistic and welcoming attitude toward the outside world.

Since the start of reform and opening-up, the economic powerhouse on China's eastern coast has attracted a large amount of international capital, and many multinational companies have set up factories and branches in the province.

Foreign investment has become an important part of the province's economy. Its actual use of foreign capital in 2018 amounted to $12.39 billion, representing a year-on-year growth of 6.5 percent.

The number of foreign-invested enterprises in the province has surged from just one in 1981 to over 15,000 in 2018, bringing in 741 investment projects from 214 Fortune Global 500 companies.

The province's imports and exports have increased from $3 million in 1980 to $292.39 billion in 2018, with an average annual growth rate of 35.3 percent.