The eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province has sent 51 officials to Shanghai to learn from the metropolis' methods and practices in developing the modern service industry.

Before their departure on June 28, a meeting was held to underline the purposes of the study trip.

Wang Qingxian, Party secretary of Qingdao, said that Shanghai boasts a strong industrial base, competitive global resource allocation capacity and a market-oriented, law-based and internationalized business environment. He also pointed out that Shanghai's modern service industry is at the forefront of the country and even the world.

FILE PHOTO: High-rise buildings and skyscrapers dominate the skyline of the Huangpu River and the Lujiazui Financial District in Pudong, Shanghai. [Photo/Sipa]

He stressed that Qingdao should learn from Shanghai's efforts and innovative approaches to further expand opening-up, accelerate the construction of a high-quality, efficient, dynamic and competitive industrial system in Qingdao, and build Qingdao into a modern service center in northern China.

Wang said that during this trip Qingdao officials should make a special effort to investigate and study Shanghai's open and inclusive urban development concept, talent policy and modern urban governance as well as find cooperation opportunities for the two cities in the modern service sector.

The eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The first batch of officials was selected from the Qingdao development and reform commission, the bureau of commerce, other departments of the modern service industry as well as relevant departments in all districts and functional areas.

The team will spend two and a half months in Shanghai and learn from 18 organizations, including the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shanghai-based conglomerate Fosun International Limited.

A view of the Lujiazui financial hub in Shanghai's Pudong New Area [Photo by Gao Erqiang/China Daily]

Qingdao is a renowned manufacturing city in China. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]