As a coastal economic powerhouse, a populous province and a cultural hub, Shandong has been ramping up efforts to boost green, low-carbon and high-quality development, firmly shouldering its responsibility in advancing China's modernization.

From new energy vehicles in Jinan and Qingdao and lithium batteries in Zaozhuang and Jining to carbon fiber in Weihai and biopharmaceuticals in Heze, various cities in Shandong have strengthened scientific and technological innovation in their industries.

In 2023, Shandong added more than 6,000 high-tech enterprises, bringing the total number to 32,000; it implemented 110 sci-tech innovation projects and 50 major breakthrough projects, achieving landmark results in fields such as supercomputing interconnection, high-definition chips and plant gene editing; and the total installed capacity of new energy and renewable energy power generation in Shandong exceeded 93 million kilowatts.

"Shandong is promoting the integration of technological and industrial innovation," said Zhang Haibo, director of the Shandong Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, adding that the province is focusing on the convergence of scientific and industrial talent and the coordination of innovation and industrial policies.

Recently, 1,007 major projects commenced construction in Shandong, and the province launched the first series of policies with 50 specific measures in seven sectors to fuel the economy and accelerate green, low-carbon and high-quality development starting Jan 1.

Shandong is focusing on the real economy as it continues to solidify the foundation of its industrial sector. In 2023, the value added of industries above designated size in the province increased by 7.1 percent year-on-year. It became home to 12 new national-level industrial design centers, four national-level technology innovation demonstration enterprises, and seven national benchmark enterprises.

Meanwhile, it is also bolstering emerging industries such as deep-sea and aerospace, biomedicine, metaverse and artificial intelligence.

The province issued a series of policies in such sectors as commerce, tourism and housing to boost consumption. To date, it has distributed vouchers worth 890 million yuan ($123.61 million), leading to consumption of some 16.6 billion yuan.

Shandong has consecutively been selected as one of the provinces with the best business environment in the country. By the end of 2023, the province had about 14.65 million operating entities, the second most in the country.