7th Multinational Summit Opens in Qingdao for Business

The 7th Multinational Corporation Leaders Summit opened on June 16 at the Qingdao International Conference Center in Shandong Province, drawing more than 700 representatives from government agencies, international organizations, and 357 multinational corporations across 44 countries and regions. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng delivered the keynote address, urging global businesses to deepen their engagement with China as the country embarks on its 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030), according to Xinhua News.

A High-Level Platform for Economic Engagement

Co-hosted by the Shandong Provincial People’s Government and China’s Ministry of Commerce, the summit is themed “Multinational Corporations and China — Joining Hands for the ‘15th Five-Year Plan’ Toward Innovation and the Future.” It serves as a key mechanism for signaling China’s economic direction and attracting foreign investment amid global economic uncertainties, as reported by People’s Daily.

The summit has been held annually since its inaugural edition in 2019, with senior Chinese leaders consistently attending. This year’s edition saw Vice President Han Zheng — a significant upgrade from the 6th summit in 2025, which was addressed by Vice Premier He Lifeng — underscoring the political importance Beijing places on maintaining strong ties with multinational corporations.

Record Participation Signals Strong Business Interest

According to the Securities Times, the 357 participating companies include 105 Fortune Global 500 firms and 252 industry-leading enterprises. Notably, modern service enterprises account for 20% of participants — a record high for the summit — reflecting China’s strategic push to open its services sector to foreign investment.

Notable attendees included Torobayev Bakyt, Special Representative of the President of Kyrgyzstan; Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre; Richard Taylor, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Weta Workshop from New Zealand; and Hou Qijun, Chairman of Sinopec Group.

Han Zheng’s Four-Point Proposal

In his opening ceremony speech, Vice President Han Zheng outlined a four-point proposal for multinational corporations, as detailed by Qingdao News:

1. Share China’s massive consumer market — encouraging multinationals to increase investment and expand into new development spaces
2. Seize new opportunities in industrial upgrading — deepening industrial cooperation to enhance global competitiveness
3. Build a new ecosystem for innovation cooperation — leveraging China’s innovation resources to create a more resilient and competitive ecosystem
4. Create a new landscape of open cooperation — steadfastly maintaining an open international economic environment and safeguarding global industrial and supply chain stability

“China firmly supports multinational corporations in investing and thriving in China, working together to create a bright future of win-win cooperation,” Han Zheng said, according to Qingdao News.

Green Transformation as a New Growth Engine

A key theme of this year’s summit is the alignment between multinational corporate interests and China’s green transition goals under the 15th Five-Year Plan. A related Xinhua report highlighted that the plan emphasizes accelerating the development of strategic emerging industries, including new-generation information technology, new energy, new materials, and intelligent connected new energy vehicles.

Peng Tao, China General Manager of German firm Strub Environmental Technology, noted that the plan’s focus on building a clean, low-carbon, safe, and efficient new energy system would help his company further deepen its presence in the Chinese market. Strub has been operating in China for over 50 years, specializing in food waste treatment and industrial waste heat recovery.

Concrete Outcomes: 40 Projects Signed

The summit yielded tangible results, with 40 cooperation projects signed covering foreign investment, foreign trade, foreign economic cooperation, and modern service industries. The projects span all 16 prefecture-level cities in Shandong Province, according to People’s Daily. The Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, under the Ministry of Commerce, also released the “Multinational Corporations in China” research report during the event.

Looking Ahead

The 7th Multinational Corporation Leaders Summit reinforces China’s message of openness and stability to global business leaders at a time of geopolitical tensions and economic uncertainty. The strong turnout — particularly the record number of Fortune Global 500 participants and the increased presence of service-sector firms — suggests that multinational corporations remain keen to engage with the Chinese market. The focus on green transformation and innovation positions these companies as potential partners in China’s economic restructuring toward higher-value, sustainable industries as the 15th Five-Year Plan period begins.