Jinan is a city of 6 million, located halfway between Shanghai and Beijing. It is the capital of Shandong province. This is a wealthy province, with GDP of $300B (2nd in the country). For reference, the gross state product of Vermont is $25B, New Hampshire $50B and New York $1T. Resources in Shandong include shipping, industry, mineral deposits and especially agriculture. The agriculture is mostly grains, fruits and vegetables (as opposed to livestock). For example, they produce most of the world's garlic.
We met with representatives of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). This is another organization akin to a chamber of commerce in the US, but focused solely on international trade, both exports and imports. They hosted an amazing dinner for us; food here is a wonderful experience. You can see some of the remnants of dinner in the picture below. Food is served family style on a huge lazy Susan, so everyone samples a wide variety of dishes.
All of our delegation were present except for Dr. Guo. Representatives of CCPIT Shandong in the photo: Mr. Sun Qiang (standing left), Director, Liason and Information Dept.; Mr. Zu Qinglin (sitting left), Vice Chairman; and Mr. Lian Jiajun (sitting right), Vice Chairman. At the right is Wang Jin (Jenny), the VT Chamber of Commerce's interpreter. The CCPIT's interpreter, Yu Lixia (Lisa), took the photo.
