Qingdao has a good reputation among foreign investors. [Photo/WeChat account: qd12301]

The Qingdao International Partners Dialogue for High-quality Development is an important part of the ongoing fifth Qingdao Multinationals Summit and was held in Qingdao on Aug 28. It hosted over 400 guests, including executives of multinational companies (MNCs), representatives from business associations, renowned experts and scholars, and delegates from Qingdao.

Zeng Zanrong, Party secretary of Qingdao, stated that Qingdao will seize the opportunity of the summit to work together with MNCs to cultivate new quality productive forces. The city will continue to deepen cooperation with these companies in areas such as industrial clusters, marine specialties, and green transformation.

"Many companies from the United States have always had confidence in investing in China, and Chinese companies are more willing and capable of adopting new technologies, which is a key factor in our decision to invest in China. Qingdao is one of the most beautiful cities in China with a very sound industrial structure and is also one of the most livable cities globally, making it highly attractive to US companies," said Sean Stein, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China. 

Stein mentioned that Qingdao has a good reputation among foreign investors and has been striving to create a modern business and commercial environment. It hopes to provide a transparent, efficient, predictable, fair, and just investment environment to attract a large number of MNCs to settle down and develop.

"Qingdao prioritizes the layout of the biopharmaceutical industry as an emerging industry for development, gathering important resources from universities such as Shandong University, Ocean University of China, Rehabilitation University, and Qingdao University, making Qingdao a fertile ground for the development of the biopharmaceutical industry," said Wang Lei, global executive vice-president of AstraZeneca and president of its China branch.

Wang added that AstraZeneca has always firmly believed in developing in China, Shandong, and Qingdao. AstraZeneca will continue to support Qingdao through expanding a biopharmaceutical industry ecosystem that involves production bases, regional headquarters, innovation centers, as well as value-chains for respiratory and rare disease treatments.