Zhang Shuping (M), Party secretary of Yantai, delivers a speech at the Yantai branch venue of the "Connecting Shandong with Fortune Global 500" USA special on Sept 29. [Photo/qlwb.com]

Yantai served as a sub-venue for the "Connecting Shandong with Fortune Global 500" USA special on Sept 29.

The event, which had its main venue in Jinan, was hosted by the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee and Shandong Provincial People's Government, organized by the Department of Commerce of Shandong Province, and supported by Fortune China.

The event aims to deepen exchange and cooperation between Shandong and multinational companies.

Zhang Shuping, Party secretary of Yantai, participated in an online dialogue with Bogdan Bereanda, AP Managing Director of Fuel Injection System Delphi Technologies.

Delphi is a world-leading supplier of automotive components and system technology which has close ties with Yantai.

An agreement was signed online between American MJ BROS and Yantai-based Jiayuan Group in a bid to build a convention and exhibition center in Longkou, a county-level city in Yantai.

With an estimated total investment of $23 million, the project is expected to provide services related to exhibitions, hotel management, and park area design.

William Zarit, former chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China), delivered a speech via online video.

He said that AmCham maintains a strong cooperative relationship with Shandong province and Yantai in recent years.

"Yantai has a pleasant climate, beautiful mountains and seas, as well as apples and a huge wine industry. Moreover, it has a solid industrial foundation. The electronic information industry, food industry and equipment manufacturing industry are all developing quickly."

American enterprises have also achieved strong results by investing and operating in Yantai. General Motors, Timken and Delphi have set up production bases in the city.

"We hope that the two sides can further deepen exchange and cooperation in the future," said Zarit.