The five member cities of the Jiaodong Economic Circle - Qingdao, Yantai, Weihai, Weifang and Rizhao - signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement on July 28 to promote the integrated development of modern agriculture.

According to the agreement, the five cities will cooperate in the following matters: development of agricultural industries, building a new platform for agricultural opening-up and cooperation, promoting the integration of agricultural products market circulation, boosting agricultural science and technology innovation, and advancing agricultural safety prevention and control.

Local authorities said that the five cities in the Jiaodong area form an important agricultural production base in China.

Their combined output of grain, fruits, vegetables, livestock and poultry products accounted for 19.4 percent, 46.6 percent, 26.7 percent, 30.2 percent and 78.5 percent of the province's total respectively.

Authorities noted that the agreement will foster a new development model for rural development in Shandong and expand the province's high-quality agricultural industry.