**1. Shandong's Economy Maintains Steady Growth in First Seven Months, Key Economic Indicators Outperform National Averages**

The Shandong Provincial Bureau of Statistics announced on August 21 that from January to July this year, Shandong's key economic indicators outperformed national averages, with overall stable economic performance. Industrial production maintained rapid growth, with above-scale industrial value-added increasing by 7.8% from January to July, up 0.1 percentage point from the first half of the year. Among 41 industries, 35 achieved growth, representing a growth coverage of 85.4%. The chemical, agricultural and food processing, and electrical machinery industries maintained particularly strong growth, with value-added increasing by 14.0%, 11.6%, and 12.1% respectively from January to July, contributing 2.8 percentage points to the province's overall industrial growth.

Private economy remained highly active. From January to July, above-scale private industrial value-added grew by 10.1%, outpacing overall above-scale industrial growth by 2.3 percentage points. Retail sales of above-limit private commercial enterprises increased by 8.6%, exceeding overall above-limit retail growth by 1.7 percentage points. Private enterprises achieved imports and exports of 1.55 trillion yuan, growing 8.5%, accounting for 75.9% of the province's total import and export volume, an increase of 0.9 percentage points.

**Insight**: The achievements in the first seven months of 2025 cannot be separated from Shandong's seven consecutive years of promoting 10,000 technical transformation projects and transforming 10,000 enterprises. Against the backdrop of increasing external pressures and mounting internal challenges, Shandong's industry has anchored on this "top priority project" and continued its offensive, stabilizing fundamentals while seeking progress and accumulating new momentum through development.

**2. Qingdao Free Trade Zone Introduces 15 New Talent Policies to Accelerate Talent Hub Development**

Recently, the Qingdao Free Trade Zone issued the "Several Measures on Accelerating the Construction of Talent Aggregation Hub in the Qingdao Area of China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone." Through implementing six major programs and 15 specific measures covering top talent leadership, leading talent drive, skilled talent development, young talent support, international talent gathering, and worry-free talent services, the zone aims to accelerate the construction of a talent aggregation hub.

In terms of leading talent cultivation and recruitment, the Qingdao Free Trade Zone will provide maximum specialized talent cultivation rewards of 3.6 million yuan and 1.5 million yuan respectively through talent salary incentives, project funding, and R&D innovation support. For full-time newly introduced or independently cultivated entrepreneurial national and provincial key talent program candidates, they can choose from sales revenue rewards, venture capital assistance, or equipment and R&D investment subsidies within three years, with a cumulative maximum of 3 million yuan. Additionally, the policy strengthens high-level talent cultivation efforts, offering total rewards of 100,000 yuan to enterprises that independently cultivate provincial or municipal high-quality talents.

**Insight**: Top talents are the core force driving innovative development. The newly introduced "Several Measures" provide substantial financial support and comprehensive services to attract talent, having strategic leadership significance for the development of Qingdao Free Trade Zone and potentially achieving chain-strengthening and gap-filling effects, providing "strongest brain" support for the zone's industrial upgrading and strategic positioning.

**3. Shandong's Lithium-ion Battery Production Grows 35.7% Year-on-Year in First Half of Year**

On August 21, the Shandong Province New Energy Battery Industry Chain Integration and Consolidation Conference was held in Zaozhuang, hosted by the Shandong Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology. The conference revealed that in the first half of this year, Shandong's lithium-ion battery production increased by 35.7% year-on-year, with the new energy battery industry entering a period of accelerated development.

The event also released the "Shandong Province New Energy Battery Enterprise Supply and Demand List" and the "Shandong Province New Energy Battery Excellent Products Promotion Handbook," publishing over 200 supply and demand information items within the province and promoting excellent products and services from over 50 enterprises, further advancing collaborative cooperation throughout the industry chain.

**Insight**: The new energy battery industry chain is one of the 19 signature industry chains that the Shandong Provincial Party Committee and Government are focusing on developing, serving as important support for promoting the province's green, low-carbon, high-quality development. In recent years, with major projects from companies like EVE Energy, BYD's FinDreams, and CATL landing and becoming operational in Shandong, the province's new energy battery industry has entered a period of accelerated development. Shandong has formed a complete industry chain covering battery manufacturing, key materials, and basic raw materials.

**4. Hisense and Fuyao University of Science and Technology Establish Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Jointly Developing Embodied Intelligence Robots**

On August 20, 2025, Hisense Group signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Fuyao University of Science and Technology. Both parties will conduct in-depth cooperation in talent cultivation, technological innovation, and personnel exchange, further promoting deep integration of industry, academia, and research, and accelerating the transformation of research achievements into productivity.

As an important component of this comprehensive strategic cooperation, both parties jointly established the "Future Factory and Embodied Intelligence Robot Joint Innovation Center." According to the plan, this joint innovation center will address common needs in global manufacturing, promote rapid implementation of embodied intelligence technology in manufacturing scenarios through deep integration of the entire "industry-academia-research-application" chain, creating future factory benchmarks and a globally leading intelligent manufacturing future technology R&D and embodied intelligence robot innovation hub.

**Insight**: With the signing of this strategic cooperation framework agreement, Hisense and Fuyao University of Science and Technology have entered a comprehensive strategic cooperation phase. Both parties will establish more comprehensive, long-term, and stable strategic cooperative relationships, promoting deep integration of industry, academia, and research in talent cultivation, scientific research, and technology achievement incubation and transformation, accelerating the conversion of research achievements into productivity, fully integrating resources, and achieving win-win cooperation and common development.

**5. SICC Lists on Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Becoming Shandong's First "A+H" Listed Company This Year**

On August 20, Shandong Sicc Advanced Materials Co., Ltd. ("SICC") officially listed and began trading on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. This marks the birth of Shandong Province's first "A+H" listed company this year. Since the Hong Kong Stock Exchange's new IPO pricing mechanism was implemented on August 4, SICC is the first Hong Kong-listed company from Shandong to utilize the new allocation mechanism.

SICC Chairman Zong Yanmin stated that this Hong Kong listing is a key step in the company's internationalization strategy. Through "A+H" dual listing, the company can better utilize resources from both capital markets to accelerate development in technology R&D, capacity expansion, and market development, while attracting more international investor attention, enhancing international visibility, and thereby promoting overseas business expansion.

**Insight**: In recent years, the number of Shandong Hong Kong-listed companies has continued to grow. As of August 20 this year, Shandong Province has 71 Hong Kong-listed companies covering multiple industries including pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, chemicals, and finance, with 2 new additions this year and over 10 Shandong enterprises queuing for Hong Kong IPOs.