(Correspondent: Zhao Hong) The first summit of multinational corporations was held in Qingdao, Shandong Province on Oct,19. President Xi sent a congratulatory letter. Han Zheng, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier of the State Council, attended the opening ceremony and read the congratulatory letter from President Xi.

In his congratulatory letter, President Xi pointed out that in the historical process of China's reform and opening up for more than 40 years, multinational corporations have played an active role as important participants, witnesses and beneficiaries. The opening of China's door will only grow wider; the business environment will only get better, and the opportunities created for global multinational companies will only increase. We welcome global entrepreneurs to invest in China and strive to achieve mutual benefit and create a better future.

The first Qingdao Summit of multinational company leader was co-sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce and the Shandong Provincial People's Government. The theme of the summit was “Multinational Corporations and China”, which organized 33 events, including 4 main events and 29 activities.

Professor Shunqi Ge, deputy director of the Research Center of Multinational Corporations of Nankai University and director of the Institute of International Economics, was invited to attend and also attended the closed meeting of the Ministry of Commerce. The theme of the conference was “The Foreign Investment Law Implementation and New Opportunities for Multinational Corporations”, and 36 heads of multinational companies participated in the conference. The closed-door meeting was chaired by Hejun Wang (Director of the Department of Commerce and Law), Airong Ren (Deputy Governor of Shandong Province), Yushuo Dou (Deputy Director of the Provincial Government Office), Weike Zhang (Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Commerce), Xiaoning Zhan (Director of the United Nations Trade and Development Organization), and Xueming Gu (Dean of the Ministry of Commerce) attended the meeting.

As the expert representative, Professor Shunqi Ge delivered speeches on three aspects: investment and development of multinational corporations in China, foreign investment law and its influence, and how local governments can enhance the competitiveness of attracting investment from multinational corporations.

The Research Center of Multinational Corporations of Nankai University is the first batch of research bases of the Ministry of Education. Under the leadership of Director Guoming Xian, it has increasingly become a major town for research on direct investment by multinational corporations and Chinese multinational corporations.