Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, is demonstrating sound momentum in developing its headquarters economy thanks to its strategic location and favorable business environment.

Identifying the development of the headquarters economy as a key strategy, the city introduced policies to encourage the sector's development as early as 2018. In the 2023 list of recognized Shandong provincial headquarters enterprises and institutions, Jinan boasted 25 companies, securing the top spot in terms of provincial headquarters enterprise recognition.

As the capital of the only coastal province in the Yellow River Basin, Jinan holds a pivotal position as an important national transportation hub, leveraging its crucial position between the country's north and south, facilitating east-west trade, and promoting land-sea integration.

The business environment in Jinan is another significant draw for numerous enterprises. In recent years, the city has implemented policies aimed at optimizing the business environment, allowing businesses to thrive.

The Jinan Innovation Zone in the city's eastern part has been actively seizing multiple development opportunities to bolster the headquarters economy. In March 2013, it officially launched the headquarters economy hub - Hanyu Gold Valley, aiming to establish a leading demonstration area for headquarters aggregation at both the city and provincial levels.

After over a decade of development, the valley has attracted over 40 large financial institutions, centrally-administered enterprises, and provincial headquarters enterprises alongside more than 2,300 technology companies, accommodating over 100,000 office workers and providing high-level services for top-tier talent in areas such as housing, education, and healthcare.

Embracing high-level openness, the Jinan Innovation Zone has further strengthened connections with global capital and technology-intensive regions in Europe and the United States, establishing offices or representative offices in Germany, Stuttgart, the Netherlands, Finland, and other regions.

Since 2015, the region has hosted seven editions of the Sino-German (Europe) SME Cooperation and Communication Conference, attracting 2,680 domestic and foreign companies for visits, exchanges, and collaborations, which has resulted in 126 signed agreements for projects with a total investment agreement of 75.4 billion yuan ($10.3 billion).