Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, offers a fascinating picture of how China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is evolving from a connectivity-oriented vision into a broader platform for trade, investment, technology, industry and people-to-people cooperation. Jinan is increasingly emerging as an important gateway connecting Shandong’s powerful industrial economy with international markets and partners across the Belt and Road.

Through the scale of Shandong’s economic cooperation with the countries along the Belt and Road, it can be clearly seen that Shandong has become more and more influential in the international arena. The final provincial data show that in 2025, the total value of Shandong’s foreign trade was around RMB 3.53 trillion. The province’s foreign trade with Belt and Road countries and regions amounted to RMB 2.26 trillion, representing 64.1 percent of its total foreign trade, which is the biggest since the BRI was launched. During the year, Shandong enterprises also invested in Belt and Road countries and regions with a total amount of US$4.71 billion. Foreign investment is another important aspect of Shandong’s development.

In 2025, the province actually utilized US$9.06 billion in foreign investment. High technology industries formed the next largest category of $4.66 billion (51.5 per cent of the provincial total), highlighting the increasing significance of advanced technology, innovation and high-value industries. As of the end of 2025, 236 Fortune Global 500 companies have gained investment in Shandong with 947 projects. Jinan is particularly important in this growing international economic network. The total value of foreign trade in 2025 was RMB 289.8 billion, an increase of 24.7 percent from the previous year. Trade with Belt and Road countries........

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