"Yantai has a robust and competitive industrial base for port industry. Today some outstanding Dutch companies came that want to cooperate with local ones in this field," said Andre Driessen, deputy head of missions of the Netherlands Embassy to China.

"Future cooperation in fields of greenhouse plantation, seed production and sustainable development research will be highlighted in bilateral relations", said Driessen.

The Netherlands shares close economic and trade ties with Shandong, and is the province's third-largest trading partner in Europe. Currently about 60 Netherlands companies have investment in Shandong in such areas as machine manufacturing, chemicals and horticulture.

Andre said that Yantai and the Netherlands have many similarities in geographic location and economic structure. He hopes that the two sides will continue to maintain sound cooperation and jointly boost the growth of bilateral relations.

On-site investigations at local renowned companies were organized for the Dutch delegation after the conference.