The Shandong trade group received more than 600 deals with more than 400 enterprises from 77 countries and regions during the recently-concluded second China International Import Expo, nearly doubling its transaction amount last year.

The deals included items such daily necessities, food, agricultural products, medical instruments, and a variety of services.

According to preliminary statistics, 98 of the signed deals exceeded $10 million, accounting for 70 percent of the total.

The second CIIE, which was held from Nov 5 to 10 in Shanghai, attracted more than 3,800 companies from around over the world and had a total exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

More than $71.13 billion in intended deals were reached during the six-day expo, up 23 percent from the first expo, according to the CIIE Bureau.

Shandong held a special event during the expo to promote its pilot free trade zone and demonstration area for economic and trade cooperation between China and members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Jinan, the province's capital, inked a total of 162 deals at the world's largest import expo, more than any other city in Shandong. 

The city hosted a series of business exchange activities, such as a signing conference and visits to multinational company headquarters in Shanghai.

Zibo signed 13 foreign-invested projects worth about $3.05 billion and 8 domestic projects with a total investment of 2.78 billion yuan ($397 million), involving high-end equipment, new energy and materials, high-end chemicals, tourism, new generation information technology, medical care and more.

The 178 buyers from Shandong's Dongying made deals involving food, agricultural products, daily necessities, and papermaking raw materials, among other things.

During the expo, Huatai Group, a Dongying-based papermaking company, signed a pulp import agreement with Metsä Fibre, a leading Finland-based producer of pulp, sawn timber, bioproducts and bioenergy. This is the second time the two have cooperated after they signed deals at the first CIIE.

Weifang held match-making and promotional activities to facilitate cooperation. The city signed 39 cooperation projects with a total investment of 21.99 billion yuan, involving new generation information technology, medical care, modern agriculture, logistics and more.

In addition, the province's 23 time-honored brands and intangible cultural heritages also received large orders.

Yefengsu, a Jinan-based food company focusing on Shandong-style snacks and specialties, signed cooperation agreements with Lagardere Services China (Shanghai) Co, a subsidiary of French travel retail giant Lagardere Group.

A time-honored silver pot brand from Shandong, Jiwenzhai, gained more than 300,000 yuan worth of orders at the expo.

Liu Jiayi (middle), Party chief of Shandong province, looks at the products exhibited by Weichai Group, a heavy-duty engines manufacturer based in Shandong's Weifang, during the second China International Import Expo. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Liu Jiayi, Party chief of Shandong province, experiences the Ferretti 195-type official ship during the second CIIE. Ferretti is a high-end overseas brand owned by Weichai. In 2012, Weichai purchased a majority stake in Italian yacht-maker Ferretti to tap into the luxury yacht sector. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Jining in Shandong signs cooperation agreements with foreign companies during the second CIIE. [Photo/iqilu.com]

Foreign visitors line up to sample Shandong pancakes during the second CIIE. [Photo/VCG]