A news conference is organized by the State Council Information Office on Sept 22 to announce arrangements of the fourth Qingdao Multinationals Summit. [Photo by Liu Jian/scio.gov.cn]

The fourth Qingdao Multinationals Summit will be held in Qingdao, a coastal city in East China's Shandong province from Oct 10 to 12, according to a news conference organized by the State Council Information Office on Sept 22.

Addressing the news conference in Beijing, Chen Chunjiang, assistant minister of commerce, said that foreign companies can promptly address operational issues, submit suggestions to the Ministry of Commerce online, contact handling personnel for inquiries and track the processing of their requests through the new system.

"This move aims to effectively address the concerns of multinational companies," he said.

Song Junji, the vice-governor of Shandong province, said at the news conference that the summit has since its inception in 2019 become an important platform for dialogue, exchanges and practical cooperation between China and multinational corporations.

Song said that 316 multinational corporations have registered for this year's summit. A total of 21 CEOs and 30 deputy CEOs from Global Fortune 500 companies, as well as 117 CEOs and 96 deputy CEOs from multinational corporations in the Chinese market, will attend the event.

In a sign that the summit is becoming increasingly influential, leaders from 92 multinational corporations will be participating in the summit for the first time.

The fourth summit will feature 14 categories and 24 events. In addition to the opening ceremony, activities like multinational corporation symposiums, closed-door meetings on policies organized by ministries and commissions, a briefing on China's investment policies and project promotions, as well as an investment and cooperation promotion event for the Yellow River Basin will be held.

An exhibition themed "Multinational Corporations and China" will be set up to showcase the results of cooperative relations between multinational corporations and China's industrial sectors. The exhibition will also highlight the achievements, advanced technologies, and cooperative intentions of multinational corporations in China.

Chen Fei, director of the Department of Commerce of Shandong Province, said that the summit has been held thrice and has become an important brand showcasing Shandong's opening-up to the outside world. It is also an important platform for Shandong to attract investment, especially foreign investment.

He said that 195 foreign-funded projects worth $27.42 billion and related to many areas, including high-end equipment manufacturing, new generation information technology, new energy and new materials, healthcare, modern and efficient agriculture, cultural and creative, and modern marine industry were signed during the past three editions.

During the news conference, Geng Tao, vice-mayor of Qingdao, said that Qingdao had attracted nearly $4.3 billion in investments for 18 key projects, some of which are by the world's top 500 companies such as AstraZeneca, Orix, and Shiseido, at the previous three summits.

He added that Qingdao has to date introduced 394 projects from 177 of the world's top 500 companies that have injected strong impetus into the economic and social development of Qingdao.