6th Qingdao Multinationals Summit scheduled for June 18-20

China

6th Qingdao Multinationals Summit scheduled for June 18-20

2025-06-13 13:32 Last Updated At：22:27

The sixth Qingdao Multinationals Summit will be held in Qingdao City of east China's Shandong Province from June 18 to 20, according to a senior official of the Ministry of Commerce on Friday.

The upcoming event, which will be co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and the People's Government of Shandong Province, is expected to send a positive signal to the world that China is continuously expanding its opening up and welcoming foreign investment, said Li Yongjie, deputy China international trade representative, at a press conference in Beijing.

"The theme of this summit is 'Multinationals and China: Connecting the World for Win-Win Cooperation.' It aims to build an exchange platform for policy dialogue, industrial connection and project cooperation for multinational corporations. The summit will include an opening ceremony and the Multinationals High-Quality Development Forum, three thematic activities and multiple parallel events covering four major sections. There will be both closed-door meetings focusing on policy interpretation and parallel forums aimed at discussing openness and cooperation. The summit will also continue to release the series of research report titled 'Multinationals in China.'" said Li.

The summit has received an active response from a large number of multinational companies worldwide, according to Song Junji, vice governor of Shandong.

"Up to now, 471 guests from multinational companies have confirmed their participation, including 342 from abroad and 129 from within the country. In terms of participants, 102 will be the first time attendees, accounting for 22 percent of the total. In terms of countries, the companies that have registered for the summit come from 43 countries and regions across six continents of the world, among which enterprises from emerging markets account for more than 50 percent, indicating that the 'circle of friends' of the summit is getting larger," said Song.

Since its inception in 2019, the Qingdao Multinationals Summit has served as a significant high-level platform for enhancing exchanges and cooperation between China and multinationals.

Over the past five editions, the summit has attracted participation from prestigious international organizations, business associations, and 421 Fortune Global 500 companies alongside 967 industry leaders. It has facilitated the signing of 592 investment projects totaling 69.8 billion U.S. dollars.

Dozens dead, 100 injured after explosion in Swiss ski resort Crans-Montana: police

Several dozen people are feared dead and around 100 injured Thursday after an explosion at a bar in the Crans-Montana ski resort in Valais Canton of southwestern Switzerland, local police said.

Those injured in the blast and subsequent fire suffered serious injuries and were taken to hospitals in Sion, capital of Valais canton, as well as in other cities, Valais Canton Police Chief Frederic Gisler said at a press conference.

An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the explosion, but authorities have ruled out an attack.

Helicopters and ambulances, including some from abroad, rushed to the scene, as the intensive care units and operating rooms of local hospitals are at full capacity, said local officials at the press conference.

Guy Parmelin, President of the Swiss Confederation, has arrived at the scene of the accident.