DM Monitoring
QINGDAO: Business leaders pinned high hopes on China to drive global economic recovery at the second Qingdao Multinationals Summit, which concluded on Friday in the coastal city of Qingdao in east China’s Shandong Province.
Representatives of 390 Fortune 500 companies and 517 industry leaders attended the two-day event either online or offline. The event aimed to establish a high-end platform for dialogue between multinational companies, and political and academic circles amid the country’s drive to promote high-quality opening-up and build a community with a shared future for humanity.
Against the backdrop of the pandemic, and with the great changes the world is now facing and China’s increasingly steady economic momentum, the event demonstrates China’s determination to open up to a higher level, according to Vice Commerce Minister Qian Keming prior to the event’s opening. He also noted that the event would enhance the confidence of multinational companies in investing and developing in China.
Tracy Xie, president of global mining company Vale China, said that Vale is encouraged by China’s commitment to multilateralism, further opening-up and better participation in international economic cooperation. Vale is headquartered in Brazil.
“The summit itself conveys a positive signal that China is willing to build an open global economy with other countries,” said Xie.
“A platform like the Qingdao summit is needed under the current complicated situation,” noted Zhao Zhongxiu, president of the Shandong University of Finance and Economics.
“It not only shows China’s more fine-tuned policies and optimized business environment, but also enables Chinese enterprises to better communicate with multinational companies and explore new cooperation models, which can benefit both sides,” Zhao added.
China has in recent years rolled out a series of favorable policies to facilitate foreign investment, including establishing more free trade zones, shortening negative lists for foreign investment and widening market access.
