On July 15th, the 2nd Qingdao Multinationals Summit (QMS) arrived in time. Qingdao was once again in the spotlight. The eyes of the world were focused on Qingdao West Coast New Area, a vibrant land.

The night after the rain was fresh and quiet. Qingdao Cosmopolitan Exposition, where the summit will be held, was brightly lit, shining like a bright pearl in the dark. More than 10,000 guests and friends from all walks of life gathered online and offline to renew friendship, seek common development, write a new chapter of win-win cooperation, and join hands to create a bright future for multinational companies and China.

Continuing the theme of “Multinational Corporations and China” of the first summit, the summit aims to implement President Xi Jinping’s important instructions on building a community with a shared future for mankind and expanding high-level opening-up. It also aims to set up a high-end platform for dialogue between multinational corporations, politicians and academia, and build broad consensus on jointly constructing an open world economy, comprehensively upgrading the level of mutually beneficial with multinational corporations in the new stage of development.

The summit has received kind attention from the Central Committee of the Party and the State Council with strong supports from relevant ministries and commissions. It also got warm responses from the diplomatic envoys, international organizations, multinational corporations, and business associations of relevant countries and regions. Leaders from 390 world top 500 enterprises and 517 industry leading enterprises, envoys from 15 countries, representatives of relevant international organizations and business associations, experts and scholars, relevant ministries and commissions of China, and responsible officials of Shandong Province attended the opening ceremony.

Since last year, the COVID-19 epidemic has deeply influenced the development of the global economy. The world situation has become more complicated and severe, and the situation of anti-globalization is getting worse. The world is marked by changes unseen in a century. A sense of direction and positive energy are needed to promote the development of the global economy.

The summit could not have come at a better time. It has unleashed confidence and opportunities for China.
As for China, it has tried its best to overcome the adverse effects of the epidemic to hold such a global summit that crosses national borders, which is an important manifestation of the capability of a real power, and further shows China's determination and confidence in further opening up and promoting mutual benefit and win-win results. This also demonstrates that Chinese government has put considerable importance on multinational companies’ development in China and provides a crucial platform for deepening its mutually beneficial cooperation with the multinational companies. At the same time, the door that China opens up is wider and wider, which will provide a broader development stage for enterprises of all types of ownership.

As for Shandong province, the summit is undoubtedly a heavyweight platform and carrier to further build a new highland of opening up. It is not only the practice for Shandong to actively participate in international economic and technological cooperation and competition, but also successfully establishes a new image of Shandong with a higher level of opening up.

With a series of national strategic platforms, not only Shandong is once again pushed to the forefront of opening up, which helps it to accelerate the establishment of a domestic and international dual-circulation strategic fulcrum, but also more market and development opportunities for multinational companies are offered. Shandong is seizing and making good use of new development opportunities to promote its cooperation with multinational companies from sketchy blueprints into meticulous plans, continuing to write down wonderful stories of mutual benefit and win-win for both parties.

As for Qingdao, the summit is a mission and more of a golden opportunity. As a bridgehead for Shandong's open development to the world, Qingdao shoulders great responsibility of building an important fulcrum of the domestic economic cycle and a strategic link between domestic and international dual-circulation, and also building a new platform for international cooperation under the “Belt and Road” initiative.

It is Qingdao's responsibility and undertaking to make efforts with the whole city to host the summit and build such a high-level opening-up platform. Under the spotlight, the image of Qingdao, the capability and sincerity it shows, and the opportunities it provides will naturally be manifested and released. It will surely appeal more like-minded partners to join hands to create a better future.

Today, we launch the summit and at the same time hoist the sail of the city! Qingdao, with its lifted spirits, once again stands at the cutting edge of China's higher level of opening up, and thus becomes a bridgehead for Shandong to open up to the whole world to further develop itself. Looking forward to the future, a more open, more energetic and more prosperous Qingdao is heading its way step by step!