Jinan has a long history and remains a culturally important city, highly-touted by the State Council as one of the nation's ''Spring Cities'' because of its pleasant weather. Located in western Shandong Province near Taishan (a UNESCO World Heritage site), and just north of the Yellow River, which is known as the ''cradle'' of the Chinese nation, Jinan is a city experiencing tremendous growth and development.

In 2006, Jinan's GDP reached 218.51 billion RMB, ranking 21st among all Chinese cities, with the primary industries realizing 14.51 billion RMB; the secondary industries producing 100.18 billion RMB; and the tertiary sectors contributing 103.82 billion RMB. Investment in fixed assets was up significantly to 101.7 billion RMB, as was investment in manufacturing, education and social welfare programs, at 38.32 billion RMB, 7.89 billion RMB and 80 million RMB respectively. In 2005, Jinan became one of the Top 50 national cities in terms of comprehensive power and one of the 40 superior cities for its sound investment environment.


Economic Contribution Ratios by Sector
In 2006, the economic contribution ratio of the primary industries including agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and the fisheries, represented 6.6% of GDP; the economic contribution ratio of the secondary and value-added industries and construction represented 45.9%; while the economic contribution ratio of the tertiary sector represented 47.5%.

Composition of GDP (%)
 

Sector	1978	2000	2006
Primary	11.6	10.0	6.6
Secondary	46.2	43.9	45.9
Tertiary	42.2	46.1	47.5

Foreign Trade Overview
Jinan is eager to make progress in the field of international cooperation. As for its export trade, a historic change has taken place in its transformation from indirect export to earning foreign exchange through direct export. To date Jinan has set up economic and trading relationships with more than 160 countries and has established 167 overseas enterprises in more than 30 countries and regions and some 150 overseas economic and trade offices. The city has formed an export pattern with various channels, such as through state foreign trade corporations, industrial trade corporations, operating trade corporations. The structure of export commodities has been optimized, and the export markets are diversified in many countries and regions.

The city's import/export volume amounted to US$4.39 billion in 2006, with exports of US$2.44 billion and imports of US$1.95 billion. Exports are mainly electromechanical products, new and hi-tech products, garments, steel and agro-products. In 2006, its exports of electromechanical products totaled US$1.14 billion, up by 71.8%; exports of new and hi-tech products totaled US$0.26 billion, up by 230%. Hong Kong, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the U.S.A, Southeast Asia and the E.E.C have become the major trade partners of Jinan.

Foreign Trade and Cultural Ties
Jinan has established sister-city relations with 12 foreign cities and by the end of 2006, had established economic, technological and cultural exchanges and cooperation with more than 100 nations and regions. In the last 5 years, the city has received 344,000 delegation members from 120 nations and regions all over the globe.

Jinan's Sister Cities

Nation	City	Date
Japan	Wakayama	1983.01.14
United Kingdom	Coventry	1983.10.03
United States	Sacramento	1985.05.29
Japan	Yamaguchi	1985.09.20
Canada	Regina	1987.08.10
Papua New Guinea	Port Moresby	1988.09.28
South Korea	Suwon	1993.10.27
Russia	Nizhny Novgorod	1994.09.25
Finland	Wanda	2001.08.27
France	Rennes	2002.07.17
Australia	Joondalup	2004.09.04
Germany	Augsburg	2004.10.10

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