Shandong province plans to apply for construction of a pilot free trade zone as China's free trade agreements (FTA) with South Korea and Australia are expected to bring great opportunities, Shandong provincial governor Guo Shuqing said at the provincial work report for 2015.

In 2015, the total foreign trade value of Shandong reached $ 241.75 billion. The actual use of foreign capital was $ 16.3 billion and the actual outward investment topped $ 5.78 billion.

Shandong enjoys geographical advantages as it neighbors with Japan and South Korea. In 2016, the province will strengthen industrial cooperation with global top 500 and leading industrial companies, and encourage local businesses to invest in overseas projects on energy resource exploitation and equipment manufacturing.

Taking advantage of the agreements with South Korea and Australia, Shandong will speed up the construction of a regional economic cooperation demonstration zone of China-South Korea FTZ and the China-South Korea Industrial Park in Yantai.