On the morning of February 7, 2022 Work Mobilization Conference of Shandong Province was held in Jinan, where Shandong’s Outstanding Entrepreneurs, Leading Entrepreneurs and Brilliant Entrepreneurs were commended and awarded. 

Li Ganjie, Secretary of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee, alongside with Zhou Naixiang, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee and Governor of Shandong Province attended the meeting and delivered respective speeches. 

Comrade Li Xiyong, the late former Secretary of the CPC Shandong Energy Committee and Chairman of SDEG was posthumously awarded the honorary title of "Shandong Leading Entrepreneur".

Comrade Li Xiyong, a person of extraordinary dedication and loyalty, sacrificed his life to the great cause led by the Communist Party of China. Over the past 40 years, he has led by example to practice his proud philosophy of "loyalty + responsibility", "wisdom + sweat" and "fairness + integrity", and paid over 7,000 visits to underground coal mines. He rarely took rest and his footprints could be found at every corner that records the company's growth. 

Upon assuming the office as Secretary of the CPC Shandong Energy Committee and Chairman of SDEG, he had been active in promoting the building of intelligent coal mines, with the world's first mining-used highly-reliable 5G private network system unveiled. He is arguably a paragon for riding the waves rippled by the fourth technological revolution in the coal sector, turbocharging Shandong Energy Group to transform from a once traditional coal-based enterprise into a new energy enterprise. Carrying forward his unremitting efforts to make the company stronger, primer and bigger, SDEG became Shandong’s first enterprise ranking 70th in Fortune Global 500 List with assets and revenues both up to RMB600 billion in 2021.

Comrade Li Xiyong's exploit fully embodies how a CPC member and entrepreneur should practice his purpose and perform his duty, should conduct the entrepreneurship with boundless vigor, should make his contribution to the people, and should commit himself to reforms and innovation. By all accounts, he deserves this title.

The title was awarded in the name of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee and the Shandong Provincial Government. The awarding event aimed to “put excellent entrepreneurs in the spotlight”, as a way to demonstrate Shandong's homage to them.