Qingdao aims to further optimize the foreign investment environment. [Photo/WeChat account: opinionline]

Qingdao in Shandong province introduced 24 measures on Aug 1, which aimed at further optimizing the foreign investment environment and attracting more foreign investment to Qingdao.

The 24 measures focus on promoting a higher level of openness, improving the quality of foreign investment utilization, strengthening policy element guarantees, promoting technological innovation in foreign-invested enterprises, creating a world-class business environment, and improving the mechanism for attracting foreign investment, all aimed at offering appealing investment opportunities for global investors.

Qingdao will prioritize the high-quality development of several key areas in the city such as the Qingdao Area of the China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone and the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area, also known as the SCODA.

Efforts will be made to further open up to the outside world in areas such as the marine economy and financial services in the free trade zone. The city will deepen reform and innovation in the SCODA, focusing on modern trade, international logistics, and other areas for external opening, and further create a new platform for international cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

According to the measures, the city will deepen investment and cooperation with countries such as Japan, South Korea, Germany, and Singapore in high-end equipment, biomedicine, clean energy, and other fields, and increase open cooperation with regions such as Hong Kong and Macao in international shipping, financial technology, private equity funds, and more.

Qingdao will also strive to test out expanded opening up measures in areas such as telecommunications, the internet, education, and culture.

The measures specify increasing policy support for foreign-funded manufacturing projects and increasing policy support for modern service industry foreign-funded projects.

The measures also propose accelerating the introduction of foreign investment in key industries and targeting cutting-edge technologies to stimulate new quality productive forces. Foreign-funded projects in the manufacturing and modern service industries will be introduced, aiming to boost the actual use of foreign investment in manufacturing and modern service industries so that it accounts for at least 70 percent of the total foreign investment by 2026.

Qingdao will provide supportive policies for promoting technological innovation in foreign-invested enterprises, and encourage the latter to establish research and development centers in Qingdao.