The first Qingdao Multinationals Summit opens in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province on Oct 19. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The first Qingdao Multinationals Summit opened in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province on Oct 19.

Themed "Multinationals and China", the summit gathered chairmen and vice-presidents of global multinational companies from 35 countries and regions.

A total of 115 Fortune 500 companies and 197 leading companies from a variety of industries attended seeking mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.

Han Zheng, vice premier of the State Council, Zhong Shan, Minister of Commerce, Han Seung-soo, former prime minister of the South Korea, and Liu Jiayi, Party chief of Shandong attended the opening ceremony and delivered keynote speeches. 

The summit is the first of its kind in the world to focus on issues related to multinational companies, hoping to offer equal platforms for learning and sharing their experiences.

The event marks the start of a new pattern of comprehensive opening up. It will also bolster Shandong's efforts in Belt and Road Initiative construction.

The organizing committee said that 33 activities will be held during the two-day event, including closed-door meetings, parallel forums, multinational corporation road shows, promotional events and exhibitions.

The first Qingdao Multinationals Summit is jointly held by the Ministry of Commerce and the Shandong provincial government.

Officials said that Qingdao city will become the permanent host site of the international summit. It will be held on the third Saturday and Sunday of October every year.

Attendees are pictured at the first Qingdao Multinationals Summit held in the eastern coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province on Oct 19. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]