Shandong to lead China's push for new growth drivers

Foreign investment has become an important part of the province's economy. Its foreign capital actually used in 2017, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, was 121.05 billion yuan.

The province has also actively integrated into the Belt and Road Initiative in recent years. Local officials said that regions involved in the initiative have become hot investment destinations for Shandong's businesses.

It invested 10.06 billion yuan in countries involved in the initiative last year.

Nine cities in Shandong offer train services connecting Asia to Europe.