From November 8th to 9th, the 4th Shandong Forum, co-organized by Shandong University and Chey Institute for Advanced Studies in South Korea, was held in Qingdao. The forum featured four sub-forums on "Peace-building in East Asia under New Dynamics”, “Cultural Exchange and Community Building in East Asia”, “Economic Cooperation and Development in East Asia”, and “Legal Civilization and Cooperation in East Asia”. Among the events, the Entrepreneurs Roundtable, hosted by the School of Management, Shandong University, focused on “New Globalization, Digital Transformation, and Green Development”. The Roundtable brought together representatives from Fortune Global 500 companies, industry experts and scholars, alumni entrepreneurs, and students representatives. Distinguished guests, including Kim Woosik, President of the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, Yu Dehui, former General Manager of Aluminum Corporation of China Limited, and Cao Xianqiang, member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee of Shandong University, Vice President of Shandong University and President of Qingdao Campus, attended and delivered opening remarks.
Cao introduced the overall development strategy of Shandong University, and the three academic clusters at the Qingdao campus. He highlighted that as a comprehensive university, Shandong University dedicates to advancing national strategies of new globalization and digital transformation. Cao expressed hope for collaboration with experts and entrepreneurs to align with the strategic goals of Shandong province, driving integration across talent, education, industry, and innovation to contribute to national prosperity, revitalization, and public well-being.
Wu Changqi, Chair Professor and Dean of the School of Management, Shandong University, served as the convener and presided over the opening ceremony.
Chi Jingtao, Vice President of the China International Council for the Promotion of Multinational Corporations and former General Manager of China Grain Reserves Group Ltd. Company, Huang Pingyi, Deputy General Manager of Shandong Weiqiao Pioneering Group; and Choi Seong-Jin, Professor at School of Business, Hanyang University, delivered speeches on the topic of "Enterprise Globalization Development in a Multipolar World". Zhang Xiaofeng, Assistant to the Dean of the School of Management at Shandong University, presided over the first session. Chi presented on“Innovation Practices and Management Challenges of Chinese Enterprises Going Global”, sharing insights from his leadership at COFCO International. Chi shared the exploration and transformation of Chinese central enterprises in the grain business during their globalization process, showing how they enhanced control over overseas energy resources, and strengthened participation in international competition to better protect national food security. Huang delivered a presentation titled “Rooted in China and Linking the Globe to Build a World-Class Enterprise”, during which he shared the globalization development of the Group and his own experiences. He emphasized the strategic opportunities provided by the Belt and Road Initiative and the importance of global integration to open up new markets, enhance competitiveness and drive mutual benefit. Choi discussed “Global Strategy of K-Beauty in a Multipolar Era”, noting that the future global economic landscape will enter a multipolar era characterized by a large number of economic entities. Besides, taking the development status of Korean multinational cosmetics enterprises as an example, he showed how Korean companies integrate traditional culture with cutting-edge technologies to participate in globalization and create maximum synergy within the value chain of management systems.
Zhao Shaoxiang, Chairman of Inspur General Software Co., Ltd., Chen Caixia, Director and Senior Vice President of Hisense Group Holding Co., Ltd., and Zhang Yunlan, Chairman of Qingdao Kutesmart Co.,Ltd., delivered speeches on the topic of "Opportunities and Challenges for Enterprise Innovation and Development in the Digital and Intelligent Era". Qiao Yue, Vice Dean of the School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Shandong University, presided over the second topic. Zhao presented on“Reflections on Digital Government Construction in the New Era”, highlighting that the digital economy and life sciences are key competition areas for major powers. Moreover, Zhao mentioned that the information industry and Digital China initiatives support social governance and public services, guided by government policies, scientific oversight, and market-oriented approaches. Integrating government and enterprise resources could enhance social governance and development. Chen discussed on the topic of“Leveraging Independent Innovation, Embracing Digital Intelligence, and Seizing the Opportunity to Achieve 'World-Class' Status”, during which she emphasized digital era's potential for major industrial leaps. Hisense has been making continuous efforts and has yielded phased results in four key areas: creating products that better understand consumers, providing smart home scenario solutions, establishing a model of advanced manufacturing with both quality and efficiency, along with offering a new and globally integrated service model. Zhang presented on“Creating a C2M Industrial Internet Platform Ecosystem with Kutesmart”, detailing Kutesmart’s transformation from traditional clothing enterprise into a digital manufacturing leader producing personalized products at industrial costs and efficiency.
The third topic, titled“New Energy and Green Development”, featured keynote speeches by Yu Dehui, former General Manager of Aluminum Corporation of China, Liu Zhongyun, former General Manager of the Pipe China, and Choi Jae-Duk, Professor at Seoul School of Integrated Sciences and Technologies. The session was presided over by Yang Lin, Dean of Business School, Shandong University. Yu delivered a presentation on "Reflections on Green and Low-Carbon Development in Manufacturing”, discussing the three driving forces, four trends, five capabilities, and six directions essential for advancing green technology innovation and establishing a modern, secure, and advanced industrial system. Liu shared insights on the trends in the oil and gas industry and highlighted the role of natural gas in the global energy transition in his talk titled “Strategies for New Energy Development and Oil and Gas Transformation in China”. What’s more, he emphasized that renewable energy is the future of oil and gas transformation in China, outlining pathways and measures for achieving carbon peaking and neutrality while accelerating the development of renewable energy and new materials. Choi discussed“Changes in International Order and Business Environment”, providing an analysis of the crises and challenges arising from current global dynamics, the retreat of globalization, and the shift in international relations from cooperation to conflict. He expressed how competition among major economies like China and the U.S., along with other global economic powers, has created economic performance of different regions and countries exhibits significant divergence that increased uncertainty in the global economic outlook.
In the Q&A session, Kim Yoo-Seok carried out in-depth exchanges on the presented topics with attendees.
Launched in 2015 and headquartered at Shandong University, the Shandong Forum builds on the rich cultural heritage of East Asia and the unique advantages of the Shandong region. Supported by the Shandong Provincial Government, the forum focuses on “East Asia, Mutual Trust, and Win-Win Cooperation” under the theme of the“East Asian Community with a Shared Future”. It serves as a high-level academic platform for global dialogue among government, business, and academia.
In recent years, the School has actively supported local development and national priorities by cultivating excellent management leaders, integrating education with industry and fostering international collaboration. The successful launch of the Entrepreneur Roundtable at the Shandong Forum represents a key step in advancing high-level openness and innovation-driven growth.
