The Dialogue Between Qingdao and International City Partners is held on Oct 11 in Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Dialogue Between Qingdao and International City Partners, a supporting event of the 4th Qingdao Multinationals Summit (QMS), was held on Oct 11 in Qingdao, Shandong province.

The dialogue, entitled "Joining Hands With Multinationals For Closer Industrial Corporations", focused on the development trends in key industries and new opportunities for collaboration.

More than 400 guests, including leaders of multinational corporations, renowned experts and scholars, as well as representatives from Qingdao, attended the event.

During the opening ceremony, Qingdao secured a total investment of $3.45 billion in 13 projects, with the presence of four Fortune Global 500 companies: Singapore's Trafigura Group, COFCO, HBIS Group, and Xinxing Cathay International Group.

AstraZeneca also held a ceremony to unveil its Qingdao regional headquarters, marking the start of its operations. Earlier this year, AstraZeneca invested $450 million to build a new production and supply base for inhalation aerosols, followed by an additional $250 million six months later.

Michael Lai, general manager of AstraZeneca China, said that Qingdao has undoubtedly become a vital starting point for the development of AstraZeneca's industrial chain in China.

Qingdao holds new prospects for industrial development and cooperation, particularly in emerging sectors such as integrated circuits, new displays, biomedicine, medical devices, and virtual reality, instilling multinational companies with unwavering confidence in collaborative ventures.

"As president of the Korean Chamber of Commerce, I will strive to encourage more Korean enterprises to invest and develop in Qingdao, while simultaneously expanding our food business, with Qingdao serving as the central hub in China," said Yoon Do-sun, global vice-president of CJ Group.

Lu Zhiyuan, Party secretary of Qingdao, emphasized that Qingdao will take advantage of the dialogue to further deepen collaboration with multinational corporations in advanced manufacturing, modern services, agriculture, trade, green energy, and other sectors.