China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone (SDFTZ) was officially approved by the State Council for establishment on August 26, 2019. According to Qingdao Customs District P.R. China, the foreign trade value of the SDFTZ had aggregated 1.62 trillion yuan by the end of August 2023, with an average annual growth rate of 24.3 percent. In the first eight months of this year, the foreign trade value of the SDFTZ totaled 309.57 billion yuan, accounting for 14.5 percent of the province's total.

As one of the fifth batch of pilot FTZs in China, the SDFTZ consists of the Jinan, Qingdao, and Yantai areas, totaling 119.98 square kilometers. Over the past four years, with institutional innovation as the core and the possibility of replication and promotion as basic requirements, the SDFTZ has carried out differentiated exploration in an in-depth manner, piloted national systems, and promoted regional development, striving to develop itself into a pioneer of China's reform and opening-up in the new era.

Besides, the Qingdao and Yantai areas of the SDFTZ are located under the jurisdiction of Qingdao Customs District P.R. China. As the customs authority constantly strengthens internal and external coordination, 34 innovative systems developed by the two areas have been selected among institutional innovation achievements of the SDFTZ in the past four years, accounting for more than 20 percent of the total.