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Qingdao, Shanghai team up to expand modern service sector

(chinadaily.com.cn) | 2020-07-09

A meeting to foster exchange and cooperation in modern services between Qingdao and Shanghai was held in Shanghai on July 8.

The event attracted more than 500 attendees from government departments, business associations and enterprises related to the finance, shipping and exhibition industries.

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A total of 23 projects are signed at the Qingdao-Shanghai meeting regarding exchange and cooperation in modern services. [Photo/WeChat account: qdfbwx]

Two strategic cooperation projects and 21 investment projects were signed by the two sides. The projects involve cultural creativity, new infrastructure, finance and equity investment, new retail, internet industry headquarters, trade and logistics and other fields, with a total planned investment of 35.6 billion yuan ($5.08 billion).

Wang Qingxian, Party secretary of Qingdao, said that Qingdao, the eastern starting point of the New Eurasian Land Bridge and a hub city of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, has many advantages in boosting both domestic cooperation and international trade.

Wang added that for Qingdao, the modern service sector is a "golden key" to cooperation with Shanghai. Last year, the added value of Qingdao's service industry reached 714.86 billion yuan, accounting for 60.9 percent of its GDP and 25.3 percentage points higher than the secondary industry.

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Wang Qingxian, Party secretary of Qingdao, delivers a speech at the meeting. [Photo/WeChat account: qdfbwx]

The service industry has become a new engine for Qingdao's economic growth, said Wang, adding that Shanghai's modern service industry is at the forefront of the country and even the world.

He expressed hope that Shanghai and Qingdao will promote cooperation in capital, finance, shipping and trade, high-tech services, cultural tourism, business services and other fields, in a bid to build Qingdao into a modern service center in northern China.

Qingdao has also sent 51 officials to Shanghai to learn from the city's advanced development and practices in developing its modern service industry.

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A night view of Qingdao [Photo by Wang Hua/qingdaonews.com]