In 2026, the “Ten Thousand Enterprises Going Global” initiative will receive a strong boost! Shandong Province has released the “2026 Policy List for Promoting Steady Economic Progress and Quality Improvement (First Batch),” focusing on international market expansion and introducing four core support measures to pave the way for Shandong enterprises to go global.
Since last year, the “Ten Thousand Enterprises Going Global, Shandong Trade Global” initiative has been deeply promoted and achieved remarkable results. In the first 11 months, 10,500 foreign trade enterprises in the province participated in 372 overseas exhibitions and 62 targeted procurement matchmaking meetings, driving steady growth in the volume and quality of foreign trade imports and exports. During the same period, the province’s total import and export volume reached 3.19 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.6%, of which exports reached 1.95 trillion yuan, an increase of 4.3%, delivering an impressive performance.
In 2026, this “going global dividend” will be further amplified. The “Policy List” proposes that this year, the “Ten Thousand Enterprises Going Global, Shandong Trade Global” international market development action will continue, organizing more than 500 overseas exhibitions and trade fairs, and organizing more than 10,000 enterprises to participate in domestic and international exhibitions. Regarding support for enterprises participating in overseas exhibitions, subsidies will be provided before or after the exhibition for expenses related to exhibition space rental and booth construction for overseas exhibitions organized or recommended by the provincial and municipal levels, with a maximum subsidy of 4 million yuan per exhibition.
Opening up international markets, “flagship products” are the core strength. In recent years, Shandong has focused on the province’s advantageous industries and development potential, innovatively building comprehensive trade service platforms such as the “Shandong Foreign Trade Excellent Products Database” and “China Grand Market.” 57 bases in the province have been recognized as national foreign trade transformation and upgrading bases, ranking second in the country. The proportion of exports of high value-added electromechanical products increased from 42.7% in 2020 to 46.9% in 2024. Agricultural product exports have ranked first in the country for 26 consecutive years, accounting for 21.3% of the total national agricultural product exports. The “Policy List” clarifies that in 2026, the “Shandong Foreign Trade Premium Products Database” will be further improved and expanded to create a high-quality foreign trade supply chain system for the entire province.
“Going global” requires more than just “establishing a foothold”; brand cultivation has become a crucial link. This year, Shandong will increase its efforts to cultivate foreign trade brand enterprises, providing support for eligible foreign trade enterprises in areas such as overseas patent applications, trademark registrations, and qualification certifications. A three-year cultivation plan for Shandong export brand enterprises will also be formulated, establishing a tiered cultivation mechanism and implementing differentiated development, striving to cultivate more than 800 “Shandong export brands” by 2028.
In recent years, new foreign trade formats such as cross-border e-commerce in Shandong have developed rapidly. By the end of 2025, all 16 cities in the national cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones have been covered. The “Policy List” proposes that the next step will be to continue to promote the integrated development of “cross-border e-commerce + industrial belts,” focusing on cultivating about 10 characteristic industrial belt product selection centers and incubating about 1,000 enterprises. Support will be provided for cross-border e-commerce enterprises’ expenses related to listing on third-party platforms.
From policy subsidies to platform construction, from product upgrades to brand building, Shandong’s new foreign trade policies are making multi-pronged efforts to create a smoother “fast track” for Shandong enterprises to go global, helping the province’s foreign trade achieve steady improvement and reach new heights in the first year of the “15th Five-Year Plan.”
