Shandong Deepens BRICS Cooperation with Int'l Trade, Investment Conference

Jinan, China (ANTARA/Xinhua-AsiaNet)- The "Dialogue with BRICS - Shandong International Trade and Investment Conference" kicked off on Tuesday in Jinan, the capital of east China's Shandong Province, drawing over 100 business delegates from 30 countries and regions, including BRICS members and partner nations, to meet face-to-face with more than 200 local companies.

Now in its third edition, the event has become a regular fixture on Shandong's business calendar. This year's matchmaking sessions - more than 500 one-on-one meetings - focused on agricultural products, green and low-carbon industries, machinery, high-end chemicals and the digital economy.

Delegates explored cooperation across a wide range of sectors. Ahmed Mustafa Fahmy Hafez, head of the League of Arab States Mission in Beijing, said Arab states are pursuing diversification and see strong potential with Shandong across four areas, namely green energy transition, agricultural and food security, infrastructure and the digital economy, as well as trade and financial innovation. Nahom Berhanu Wendaferew, Minister Counselor at the Embassy of Ethiopia in China, pitched his country's investment potential in agro-processing, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and information and communications technology.

In his keynote speech, Gao Zhikai, deputy director of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), called for open-source artificial intelligence and international cooperation to boost productivity and deliver shared gains. Zhao Zhongxiu, former president of the University of International Business and Economics, urged Shandong's leading firms to move beyond exporting goods, taking entire industrial chains overseas through technical services and talent development, with priority on equipment manufacturing, green energy, modern agriculture and the marine economy.

Business groups from Malaysia, Indonesia and beyond highlighted opportunities in smart manufacturing and industrial parks, while institutions from non-BRICS members, such as Germany, Serbia and Canada, also leveraged the platform to expand their partnership networks. According to Meide Group, a Shandong-based enterprise, its total shipments to BRICS member states from 2024 through the third quarter of 2026 had reached 1.676 billion yuan (249 million U.S. dollars).

Organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Shandong Sub-council, the event arrives at a moment of expansion and deepening for the BRICS mechanism, whose member states account for roughly half the world's population, about 30 percent of global GDP and one-fifth of world trade.