East China's Shandong province has been committed to building an opening-up highland during the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–25) period, yielding positive results.

Shandong experienced a significant increase in foreign trade. The province's imports and exports rose from 2.2 trillion yuan ($315.35 billion) in 2020 to 3.38 trillion yuan in 2024, a 53.6 percent increase. Last November, its annual foreign trade reached 3.19 trillion yuan, marking a growth rate 1 percentage point higher than the national average.

Shandong has achieved full coverage of national cross-border e-commerce pilot zones across its 16 cities, supporting 20 provincial platforms, 30 industrial parks, and 100 leading brands. Cross-border e-commerce and market procurement trade now contribute over 10 percent of total exports. The province is also advancing digital trade, with knowledge-intensive services trade growing by 83.3 percent in 2024 compared to 2020.

Shandong has also hosted high-level economic and trade events during the period. Major events, such as the Qingdao Multinationals Summit, Conference of Great Business Partners, Hong Kong-Macao-Shandong Week, and Singapore-Shandong Week, have strengthened local enterprises' cooperation with Fortune Global 500 companies, with 236 of them investing in 947 projects in total.

In addition, Shandong has boosted high-quality development through three major platforms. The China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area in Qingdao hosted high-level trade forums. The free trade zones in Shandong focused on green and cross-border rule innovations. Development zones have concentrated provincial high-tech firms and contributed over 70 percent of the total import-export value during the period, attracting significant foreign investment.