In a visit to the city of Nantong, Jiangsu province, on Sept 21, the United States consul general for the city of Shanghai, Hanscom Smith, was met by Ding Dawei, the Nantong Party chief, to share their ideas on further cooperation.

Ding described the US as one of the city's most important partner countries and said he hopes Smith can introduce more investment opportunities to the city and promote cooperation in more areas.

The US is the city's fourth largest overseas investor and, by the end of August, the city had 1,024 US-backed programs, worth $3.88 billion, and with imports and exports totaling $3.04 billion in the first eight months, up 9.8 percent year-on-year.

Smith had a look at Nantong's scientific and technological parks and development areas and said that he was impressed by the city's rapid development and that he will continue to help with exchanges and cooperation, especially in trade, and science and technology.