From October 7th to 15th, a delegation from Jinan visited France, Finland, and Spain. The delegation showcased Jinan's positive image, explored the vast potential for economic and trade cooperation, accelerated cultural exchanges in both directions, and promoted green, low-carbon, and high-quality development.
During the visit, the delegation engaged in in-depth exchanges with local governments, chambers of commerce and associations, entrepreneurs, and representatives of Chinese embassies in the three countries. They held multiple economic and trade cooperation exchanges and business talks, facilitated the signing of two economic and trade cooperation agreements, and organized nearly twenty interconnected activities, combining bilateral and multilateral efforts while balancing politics, economics, and culture. These efforts achieved remarkable results in maintaining friendship, conducting pragmatic cooperation, and opening up future opportunities.
The Jinan delegation successively negotiated and exchanged ideas with representatives of chambers of commerce, associations, and companies such as the France-China Committee, the France-China Foundation, Alstom, Peugeot Motocycles, LafargeHolcim, EDF (Électricité de France), Finland's Rebound Diagnostics, Spain's Acesur Group, and the China-Spain Business Council. They introduced Jinan's industrial development advantages in new energy, intelligent manufacturing and high-end equipment, biomedicine, and others. Discussions focused on strengthening the deep integration of technological and industrial innovation, creating industrial clusters with international competitiveness, and reaching a consensus on jointly accelerating the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. These efforts continuously enhanced foreign investors' willingness and confidence in investing in Jinan and precisely promoted substantial progress in multi-field project cooperation.
Both sides reached a consensus on expanding cooperation in various fields such as economy, trade, education, culture, and tourism. In Rennes, the delegation attended the opening ceremony of the Jinan Garden, located in Parc de la Maulve, which is a landmark project of friendship city cooperation between Jinan and Rennes. The garden incorporates unique spring and garden cultural elements of the Spring City, showcasing the natural beauty, ecological beauty, and cultural beauty of the city, and will help elevate humanistic exchanges between the two friendship cities to a new level.
The delegation held multiple high-level exchange events in France and Spain, including the "Choose Jinan, Win the Future" Jinan-France Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange and the Jinan-Basque Industrial Park Business Talk. These events promoted Jinan's development opportunities and high-level development platforms such as the Jinan New and Old Growth Drivers Conversion Initiation Zone, Jinan High-tech Zone, Jinan International Medical Center, and Mingshui Economic and Technological Development Zone. Over 60 renowned French and Spanish companies participated, facilitating the establishment of regular communication mechanisms between enterprises and park platforms on both sides for trade, investment, and technology research and development cooperation.
Europe, with its developed economy, leading technology, and vast market, is an important partner for Jinan in promoting green, low-carbon, and high-quality development. Jinan is willing to continuously enhance friendly relations with local governments in France, Finland, Spain, and other countries, expand and deepen economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges, share development opportunities, and achieve mutual benefit and win-win results.
During the visit, the delegation also paid visits to the Chinese embassies in France, Finland, and Spain and the Bank of China Paris Branch, exchanging views on further promoting exchanges and cooperation between Jinan and the relevant countries and facilitating the integration of finance and industry.