A group of journalists from overseas media outlets paid a visit to China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co in Jinan, East China's Shandong province on Sept 10 in order to learn more about the progress of the city's heavy truck manufacturing industry.

The journalists, invited by China Daily and Jinan municipal government, were taking part in a three-day reporting trip covering the latest developments in Jinan.

Founded in 1956, China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co, or Sinotruk, produced China's first ever heavy-duty truck. In 2003, the company exported just 40 vehicles. In 2004, it began to internationalize through brand development, capital, management, talent, technology and marketing.

In recent years, Sinotruk has been ramping up efforts to expand businesses in overseas markets. It does this by building production bases through investment, joint ventures, cooperation, mergers and acquisitions. The result is localized production, manufacturing and sales.

To date, the company has set up 73 representative offices and distribution service offices around the world. It has also developed 100 service outlets and 110 accessories outlets in more than 60 countries.

A group of journalists from overseas media outlets pay a visit to China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co in Jinan on Sept 10. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A foreign journalist sits in the driver's seat of one of Sinotruk's heavy-duty trucks. [Photo by Zhang Yong/provided to chinadaily.com.cn]