Deputy Chief of the CPC Qingdao Municipal Committee and Mayor of Qingdao Ren Gang met with Chairman of the UK's 48 Group Club Jack Perry Jr. and his delegation on the morning of May 24.

Ren extended a warm welcome to the visitors, highlighting Qingdao's favourable ecological environment and its appeal as a livable, business-friendly, and tourist-friendly city. He noted that Qingdao, in its active implementation of President Xi Jinping's important directives for Shandong and Qingdao, is heavily focused on building an innovation-driven industrial system to further expand a high-level of opening and also to accelerate the development of a modern international metropolis. Ren expressed hope for establishing more robust communication mechanisms with the 48 Group Club to enhance business exchanges and foster cooperation in sectors such as trade, finance, new energy, and artificial intelligence, aiming for mutual benefit.

Jack Perry Jr. commended Qingdao's beauty, the friendliness of its people, and the city's dynamic economic growth. He stated that the 48 Group Club would leverage its strengths to deepen collaboration with Qingdao, particularly in green energy and biomedicine, and to facilitate the implementation of key projects. He also pledged support in assisting Qingdao enterprises to expand into international markets.