On April 16, Group President Hu Jianhua met with Li Wei, member of the Standing Committee of the Qingdao Municipal Committee and Minister of the Organization Ministry of Qingdao.

Hu Jianhua thanked Qingdao for its strong support to China Merchants Group's development and stated that Liaoning Port Group turned a profit in 2019 after integration, which fully demonstrates the effectiveness of cooperation between central SOEs and local governments. Besides, he hoped that both parties would further strengthen exchanges and cooperation based on the established cooperative foundation in terms of finance, urban development and industrial park development. Qingdao also attached great importance to the cultivation of talented professionals with several batches of officials dispatched to Shenzhen for training, demonstrating Qingdao's determination and spirit of forging ahead. Li Wei expressed his gratitude to China Merchants Group and China Merchants Shekou for their strong support for the training of Qingdao officials. He said that Qingdao is a harbour city in northern China with the marine industry as the primary development direction. He hoped that China Merchants Group would further improve its industrial deployment in Qingdao and continue to support Qingdao's economic and social development.