[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The fourth Qingdao Multinationals Summit, jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce and the Shandong Provincial People's Government with approval from the State Council, will take place in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao from Oct 10 to 12.

Zhang Qingwei, full-time deputy secretary-general of the secretariat of the summit, said that this year's edition will continue to focus on multinational corporations and China.

In the face of the new global situation and on the basis of soliciting opinions from multinational corporations and other parties, six topics have been identified for this year's summit, including greater efforts to attract and utilize foreign investment, new practices for multinational companies' development in China, new trends in industrial investment layout, new achievements in developing the business environment, international cooperation in the digital economy, and green, low-carbon and high-quality development.

These topics will run through all activities of the summit, making it a more exciting, effective and influential communication channel and exchange platform, said Zhang.

This summit aims to facilitate economic interactions between Chinese enterprises and international corporations while also encouraging multinational companies to invest in advanced manufacturing, modern services, and high-tech and green sectors in China.

The summit has been held three times so far, and has become an important brand of Shandong's opening up to the outside world. It has also become an important platform for Shandong to attract investment, especially foreign investment.

Official statistics show that in the previous three editions, agreements for a total of 195 foreign investment projects were signed, and the actual utilization of foreign investment now sits at $3 billion.

This year's summit will feature four Shandong industry promotion sessions, providing a platform for multinational companies to connect with and participate in industrial upgrading in Shandong in the fields of digital economy, high-end equipment, new energy, and new materials.

As a national-level open platform jointly organized by the Ministry of Commerce and Shandong, the summit is meant to serve the high-quality development of Shandong while also promoting high-level opening-up nationwide.

"This year's summit, in line with the Ministry of Commerce's Invest in China Year campaign, invites the guest province of Hunan and more than 20 provincial-level commerce departments and business organizations to expand upon new opportunities for cooperation between multinational companies and China," said Zhang.